Code agent should enforce gitlint title-length limit before pushing

[fullsend-ai-retro]

What happened

On PR #1225, the code agent generated a PR title of 76 characters: fix(#1220): add fix role to PerRepoDefaultRoles for review→fix dispatch loop. The repo's .gitlint config enforces a 72-character max (T1). CI's commit-lint job failed on the initial push, requiring a fix agent cycle to address the review finding and producing an extra commit. The code change itself was correct — only the title formatting caused the failure.

What could go better

The code agent should be aware of the repo's commit/title length constraints before generating the PR title. This is a straightforward, preventable rework driver. The pattern is similar to #1200 (agent blocked by lint rules it wasn't aware of), but #1200 is specifically about workflow file size constraints, not title length. Confidence: high — the gitlint config is static and the 72-char limit is standard for conventional commits.

Proposed change

Surface the gitlint title-length rule to the code agent. Two possible approaches:

1. Agent definition / skill update: Add an instruction in the code agent's definition (or the commit/PR-creation skill) stating: "PR titles must not exceed 72 characters. If the conventional-commit prefix + scope + description exceeds this, shorten the description." This is the simplest fix.
2. Pre-push hook or validation step: Add a pre-push check in the code agent's harness that validates the PR title against gitlint rules before creating the PR, allowing the agent to self-correct without a full CI round-trip.

Approach 1 is lower-effort and likely sufficient since the agent already follows conventional commit format — it just needs the length constraint. The relevant files are the code agent definition in the .fullsend repo and any commit-message instructions in CLAUDE.md or AGENTS.md.

Validation criteria

Over the next 10 code agent PRs on fullsend-ai/fullsend, zero should fail the commit-lint CI job due to title length violations (T1 rule). Check with: gh run list --repo fullsend-ai/fullsend --workflow=ci.yml --limit 20 and inspect any failures for gitlint T1 errors.

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Generated by retro agent from #1225

[fullsend-ai-triage]

Triage Summary

This is a well-documented preventable-rework issue from a retro on PR #1225. The code agent produced a 76-character PR title that violated the repo's .gitlint T1 rule (72-char max), causing a CI failure and an unnecessary fix agent cycle.

Root cause: The code agent's instructions include conventional commit formatting but do not specify the 72-character title length limit from the repo's .gitlint config.

Recommended fix: Add an explicit instruction to the code agent's definition or the commit/PR-creation skill:

"PR titles must not exceed 72 characters. If the conventional-commit prefix + scope + description exceeds this limit, shorten the description."

The repo's AGENTS.md already has a "Commit messages" section — this is a natural place to add the length constraint alongside the existing conventional commit rules.

Proposed test case:

Scenario: PR title respects 72-character gitlint limit
  Given a code agent generates a PR with conventional commit prefix and scope
  When the natural title would exceed 72 characters
  Then the agent shortens the description to fit within 72 characters
  And the title still follows conventional commit format

Edge cases:
  - Title exactly at 72 chars → accepted as-is
  - Title at 73 chars → description is shortened
  - Unicode characters (e.g., →) → counted correctly toward limit

Validation: Per the issue's own criteria, monitor the next 10 code agent PRs for zero gitlint T1 failures.

This is related to #1200 (surfacing lint constraints to the code agent) but distinct — #1200 covers workflow file size constraints, while this is specifically about title length.

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Labels: Retro-generated issue about the code agent needing a title-length constraint in its instructions, touching CI lint rules and agent skills.