git add -p

Stop doing this:

git add .
git add -A

Use this instead:

git add -p
# or
git add --patch

It walks you through each hunk and asks what to do. You get a mental refresher on what you actually changed, and you can leave the messy bits out of the commit.

The prompts

For each hunk you’ll see something like:

Stage this hunk [y,n,q,a,d,s,e,?]?

The ones that matter most:

key	meaning
y	stage this hunk
n	skip it
s	split into smaller hunks
a	stage this and all remaining in the file
d	skip this and all remaining in the file
q	quit
?	help

A real workflow

You’re mid-feature and also fixed a typo in the README. Don’t let those ride together.

git add -p

• README typo hunk → y
• feature hunks → n for now (or the other way around)

Commit the small fix, then come back for the feature:

git commit -m "Fix typo in README"
git add -p
git commit -m "Add theme toggle"

Split when a hunk is too big

If git offers one giant hunk that mixes two ideas, hit s:

Stage this hunk [y,n,q,a,d,s,e,?]? s

It breaks the hunk into smaller pieces so you can stage only the part that belongs in this commit.

Scope it to a path

You don’t have to review the whole repo:

git add -p app/components/ThemeToggle.tsx
git add -p lib/

One rule

If you can’t explain why a hunk is in the commit, don’t stage it yet.