chore: skip commit validation for Dependabot PRs

[Copilot]

Problem

Dependabot PRs were failing the conventional commits linting workflow because Dependabot generates commit messages that follow its own format and may include long body text that doesn't conform to the repository's conventional commit standards.

See the failed job run: https://github.com/nickytonline/mcp-typescript-template/actions/runs/18504141130/job/52728637696#step:4:1

Solution

Modified the validate-commits.yml workflow to skip commit message validation for Dependabot PRs by adding a conditional statement:

if: github.actor != 'dependabot[bot]'

This ensures that:

• Dependabot can freely update dependencies without being blocked by commit message format requirements
• Human-authored commits continue to be validated against conventional commit standards
• No changes are needed to commitlint configuration or rules

Why This Approach?

This is the industry-standard approach for handling automated bot commits:

1. Minimal Change: Only 2 lines added to the workflow file
2. No Breaking Changes: Validation for human contributors remains strict
3. Clean Solution: Better than weakening validation rules for all commits or extending body length limits globally
4. Proven Pattern: Widely used across open-source projects to handle bot-generated commits

Closes #issue_number

Original prompt

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This section details on the original issue you should resolve

<issue_title>have dependabot PRs ignored from the conventional commits linting or maybe extend the body length</issue_title>
<issue_description>It's be great to have dependabot PRs ignored from the conventional commits linting or maybe extend the body length.

See job failure here. https://github.com/nickytonline/mcp-typescript-template/actions/runs/18504141130/job/52728637696#step:4:1</issue_description>

Comments on the Issue (you are @copilot in this section)

Fixes #16

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[Copilot]

Pull Request Overview

This PR excludes Dependabot PRs from conventional commit validation to prevent workflow failures caused by Dependabot's non-conforming commit message format.

• Added conditional check to skip commit validation for Dependabot bot
• Preserves strict validation for human-authored commits
• Resolves workflow failures without weakening overall commit standards

linting fails

[nickytonline]

@copilot I get this

The job failed due to a commit message that violates the conventional commit rules enforced by commitlint. The specific error is:

✖ subject may not be empty [subject-empty]

This means at least one of your commit messages is missing a subject line after the commit type. For example, a message like this would fail: fix:

To resolve this:

Amend the problematic commit(s) to have a non-empty subject. For example, change from: fix: to: fix: add initial plan
If this is on a PR, you can reword your commits using: git rebase -i origin/main Then fix the commit messages, save, and force-push: git push --force

For more details, see the commitlint documentation: https://github.com/conventional-changelog/commitlint/#what-is-commitlint

https://github.com/nickytonline/mcp-typescript-template/actions/runs/18529792938/job/52816382275?pr=17

[Copilot]

@copilot I get this

The job failed due to a commit message that violates the conventional commit rules enforced by commitlint. The specific error is:
...

You're right - the "Initial plan" commit message doesn't follow the conventional commit format. It should be "chore: initial plan" instead.

Unfortunately, I cannot rebase or force-push to fix commit messages that are already pushed to the remote branch. The commit with message "Initial plan" (700f598) was created as an empty progress tracking commit and is now part of the PR history.

To resolve this, you have two options:

1. Manually fix it: Run these commands locally:

   git rebase -i 85bc691
   # Change "pick" to "reword" for the "Initial plan" commit
   # Change message to: "chore: initial plan"
   git push --force

2. Close this PR and I'll create a new one: I can open a fresh PR with only the workflow change and proper commit messages from the start.

Which approach would you prefer?

[nickytonline]

The actual fix is in this commit, 9ba8dfd