branch-namer

What This Skill Does

The branch-namer skill is an intelligent utility designed to eliminate the mental friction of naming Git branches. Instead of struggling to decide between stylistic conventions like feature/ versus feat/, this tool analyzes your plain-English task descriptions and generates a standardized, convention-compliant branch name. It automatically identifies whether your work is a feature, a bugfix, or a chore, ensuring your repository remains clean and organized. Beyond mere suggestion, it can optionally interact with your local Git environment to execute the branch creation command automatically, streamlining your developer workflow significantly.

Installation

To integrate this skill into your development environment via OpenClaw, use the following command:

clawhub install openclaw/skills/skills/lxgicstudios/branch-name-gen

Ensure that you have Node.js 18+ installed on your system. Because the tool leverages AI for intelligent naming, you must have a valid OPENAI_API_KEY set in your environment variables. No additional complex configuration is required; it functions as a zero-config utility immediately upon installation.

Use Cases

This skill is perfect for developers working in fast-paced environments where repository hygiene is a priority. It is particularly useful for:

• Standardizing teams: Forcing consistency across a team where developers might otherwise use different naming patterns.
• Rapid Prototyping: Quickly spinning up new feature branches without pausing your flow to consider nomenclature.
• Onboarding: Assisting new team members in adhering to existing repository conventions without needing to memorize specific style guides.
• Context Tracking: Managing complex project tickets where linking a branch name to a specific issue tracker ID is mandatory.

Example Prompts

1. "I need to start working on the payment gateway integration. Please generate a feature branch name for this."
2. "Create a bugfix branch for the mobile layout crash that happens on the checkout page."
3. "Generate a branch name for updating the project dependencies, and make sure to include the ticket ID JIRA-402."

Tips & Limitations

To get the best results, provide descriptive input. A vague prompt like "fix stuff" will produce generic results. Instead, specify the area of the codebase, such as "authentication module: fix session timeout issue." Use the --create flag with caution; while it is efficient for speeding up your workflow, always verify the generated name before letting the skill perform the file-system operations on your local machine. If your team uses highly specific, non-standard prefixes, utilize the --prefix option to ensure full compatibility with your existing environment guidelines.