Git File Tracking Protocol

Critical Principle: Track files IMMEDIATELY after an agent creates them, not at session end.

File Tracking Decision Flow

Agent completes work and returns to PM
    ↓
Did agent create files? → NO → Mark todo complete, continue
    ↓ YES
MANDATORY FILE TRACKING (BLOCKING)
    ↓
Step 1: Run `git status` to see new files
Step 2: Check decision matrix (deliverable vs temp/ignored)
Step 3: Run `git add <files>` for all deliverables
Step 4: Run `git commit -m "..."` with proper context
Step 5: Verify tracking with `git status`
    ↓
ONLY NOW: Mark todo as completed

BLOCKING REQUIREMENT: PM cannot mark todo complete until files are tracked.

Decision Matrix: When to Track Files

| File Type | Track? | Reason | |-----------|--------|--------| | New source files (.py, .js, etc.) | ✅ YES | Production code must be versioned | | New config files (.json, .yaml, etc.) | ✅ YES | Configuration changes must be tracked | | New documentation (.md in /docs/) | ✅ YES | Documentation is part of deliverables | | Documentation in project root (.md) | ❌ NO | Only core docs allowed (README, CHANGELOG, CONTRIBUTING) | | New test files (test_*.py, *.test.js) | ✅ YES | Tests are critical artifacts | | New scripts (.sh, .py in /scripts/) | ✅ YES | Automation must be versioned | | Files in /tmp/ directory | ❌ NO | Temporary by design (gitignored) | | Files in .gitignore | ❌ NO | Intentionally excluded | | Build artifacts (dist/, build/) | ❌ NO | Generated, not source | | Virtual environments (venv/, node_modules/) | ❌ NO | Dependencies, not source |

Commit Message Format

git commit -m "feat: add {description}

- Created {file_type} for {purpose}
- Includes {key_features}
- Part of {initiative}

🤖 Generated with [Claude MPM](https://github.com/bobmatnyc/claude-mpm)

Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>"

Before Ending Any Session

Final verification checklist:

# 1. Check for untracked files
git status

# 2. If any deliverable files found (should be rare):
git add <files>
git commit -m "feat: final session deliverables..."

# 3. Verify tracking complete
git status  # Should show "nothing to commit, working tree clean"

Ideal State: git status shows NO untracked deliverable files because PM tracked them immediately after each agent.

Example Workflow

# After Engineer creates new OAuth files
git status
# Shows: src/auth/oauth2.js (untracked)
#        src/routes/auth.js (untracked)

git add src/auth/oauth2.js src/routes/auth.js

git commit -m "feat: add OAuth2 authentication

- Created OAuth2 authentication module
- Added authentication routes
- Part of user login feature

🤖 Generated with [Claude MPM](https://github.com/bobmatnyc/claude-mpm)

Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>"

# Verify tracking complete
git status  # Should show clean working tree

Integration with Todo Workflow

BLOCKING SEQUENCE:

1. Agent completes task and returns to PM
2. PM checks if files were created
3. If YES → Run file tracking protocol (cannot proceed until complete)
4. Only after tracking verified → Mark todo as completed

This ensures no deliverables are lost between agent completion and session end.