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lore pending

Manage commits that weren't documented yet.

Synopsis

lore pending [list|resolve|skip] [flags]

What Does This Do?

Some commits cannot be documented right away: - You committed from CI (no terminal available) - You pressed Ctrl+C (questions were interrupted) - Git was performing a rebase (not the right time to ask)

These commits enter the pending queue. lore pending helps you manage that queue.

Analogy: Pending commits are sticky notes that say "document me later." lore pending helps you work through each one.

Real World Scenario

You just finished a big rebase — 5 commits replayed. Lore deferred all of them to pending (can't ask questions during rebase). Now you catch up:

lore pending
# 5 commits waiting
lore pending resolve 1
# Resume questions for each

lore pending

Subcommands

lore pending — See What's Waiting

lore pending

#  HASH     MESSAGE                       PROGRESS    AGE
1  abc1234  feat(auth): add JWT           2/5 fields  2 days ago
2  def5678  fix: rate limit bypass        0/5 fields  1 hour ago
3  ghi9012  chore: update dependencies    0/5 fields  30 min ago
Column Meaning
# Index number (use this with resolve)
HASH Git commit hash (short)
MESSAGE Your commit message
PROGRESS How many fields were filled before interruption (Ctrl+C recovery!)
AGE How long ago the commit was made

lore pending resolve — Document a Pending Commit

# Resolve by number
lore pending resolve 1
# → Opens the question flow for commit abc1234
# → Pre-fills any partial answers from Ctrl+C

# Resolve by hash
lore pending resolve --commit abc1234

# If only 1 pending → auto-resolves (no selection needed)
lore pending resolve

Flags for resolve:

Flag Type Description
--commit string Resolve by commit hash
--type string Pre-fill document type
--what string Pre-fill "what" field
--why string Pre-fill "why" field
--alternatives string Pre-fill alternatives
--impact string Pre-fill impact

Ctrl+C Recovery: If you pressed Ctrl+C during questions, your partial answers are saved. When you resolve, they're pre-filled — you pick up where you left off.

lore pending skip — Intentionally Skip a Commit

lore pending skip abc1234
# → Marked as skipped, won't appear in pending anymore

Use this for commits that don't need documentation (dependency bumps, formatting changes, etc.).

Process Flow

graph TD
    A[Commit happens] --> B{Can answer now?}
    B -->|Yes, TTY available| C[Normal question flow]
    B -->|No: CI, pipe, IDE| D[📋 Deferred to pending]
    C --> E{Ctrl+C pressed?}
    E -->|Yes| F[📋 Partial saved to pending]
    E -->|No| G[✅ Document created]
    D --> H[lore pending]
    F --> H
    H --> I{What to do?}
    I -->|resolve| J[Resume questions]
    J --> K[Pre-filled from partial + commit info]
    K --> G
    I -->|skip| L[❌ Marked as skipped]

Examples

Typical Workflow After a Rebase

# After rebasing, check what's pending
git rebase main
lore pending
# → 3 rebased commits in pending

# Document each one
lore pending resolve 1
lore pending resolve 1   # (now #2 became #1)
lore pending resolve 1   # (last one)

IDE Users (VS Code, JetBrains)

When you commit from the IDE's Git panel (non-TTY), Lore defers to pending and sends a notification:

🔔 "Lore: 1 commit needs documentation. Run: lore pending resolve"

Open the integrated terminal and run: 

lore pending resolve

Scripting (Pre-fill Answers)

lore pending resolve --commit abc1234 \
  --type feature \
  --why "Performance improvement for the search endpoint"
# → Creates document with pre-filled values, no prompts

Tips & Tricks

  • Check after rebase: Rebased commits always go to pending. Make it a habit: git rebase → lore pending.
  • Ctrl+C is safe: Pressing Ctrl+C during questions never loses data. Partial answers are saved.
  • Batch in CI: lore pending --quiet | wc -l gives you the count for CI gates.
  • Don't let pending pile up: Resolve commits while the context is fresh. A week later, the "why" is harder to recall.
  • Skip liberally: Not every commit needs documentation. Use lore pending skip for trivial changes.

Exit Codes

Code Meaning
0 Success
1 Error
2 No pending commits

Common Questions

"Can pending commits expire?"

No. Pending commits stay until you resolve or skip them. Lost context is the problem Lore solves — expiring would defeat the purpose.

"I have 50 pending commits"

Be selective. Resolve recent commits first — their context is still fresh. For older ones, skim git show <hash> and either write a quick "why" or run lore pending skip for trivial commits.

"Why didn't Lore ask me during the commit?"

Check lore decision --explain <hash> for the score. Common causes: non-TTY (IDE commit), rebase, merge, or [doc-skip] in the message. See Contextual Detection.

See Also