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May 29, 2026
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docs: add commit-check vs GitHub Rulesets comparison table #419

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docs: add commit-check vs commitlint vs GitHub Rulesets comparison page
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docs: add GitHub Rulesets to README comparison; deduplicate docs/comp…
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docs: remove compare page; consolidate into README table
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41 changes: 38 additions & 3 deletions README.rst
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Expand Up @@ -440,94 +440,113 @@ Why Commit Check?
-----------------

The table below compares common approaches to commit policy enforcement.
``commitlint`` is a specialized commit-message linter. Custom Git hooks and
the ``pre-commit`` framework are integration mechanisms, so the last column
``commitlint`` is a specialized commit-message linter. `GitHub Rulesets`_
are platform-native server-side enforcement. Custom Git hooks and the
``pre-commit`` framework are integration mechanisms, so the last column
reflects a DIY approach rather than built-in product features.

.. _GitHub Rulesets: https://docs.github.com/en/repositories/configuring-branches-and-merges-in-your-repository/managing-rulesets/about-rulesets

.. list-table::
:header-rows: 1
:widths: 26 16 16 16 26
:widths: 20 14 14 14 14 24

* - Feature
- Commit Check
- commitlint
- YACC [#f2]_
- GitHub Rulesets
- Custom hooks
* - Conventional Commits enforcement
- ✅
- ✅
- Partial
- Partial [#f4]_
- DIY
* - Branch naming validation
- ✅
- ❌
- ✅
- ✅ [#f4]_
- DIY
* - Force push blocking
- ✅
- ❌
- ❌
- ✅
- DIY
* - Author name / email validation
- ✅
- ❌
- ✅
- ✅ [#f4]_
- DIY
* - Signed-off-by trailer enforcement
- ✅
- Partial [#f1]_
- ❌
- ❌
- DIY
* - Co-author ignore list
- ✅
- ❌
- Partial [#f3]_
- ❌
- DIY
* - Organization-level shared config
- ✅
- ✅
- ✅
- ✅
- DIY
* - Zero-config defaults
- ✅
- ❌
- ❌
- ❌
- ❌
* - Works without Node.js
- ✅
- ❌
- ✅
- ✅
- Depends
* - Native TOML configuration
- ✅
- ❌
- ❌
- ❌
- Depends
* - Git hook / pre-commit integration
- ✅
- Partial
- ❌
- ❌
- ✅
* - CI/CD-friendly configuration
- ✅
- Partial
- ❌
- ❌
- DIY
* - Open source & free
- ✅
- ✅
- ❌
- ❌ [#f5]_
- ✅
* - Client-side (pre-commit) enforcement
- ✅
- ✅
- ❌
- ❌
- ✅
* - AI-native (JSON API + Python SDK)
- ✅
- ❌
- ❌
- ❌
- ❌

*For* ``commitlint``, organization-level shared config is typically delivered via
shareable config packages or local files.
Expand All @@ -539,6 +558,14 @@ the plugin supports global → project → repository config inheritance;
it is a server-side pre-receive hook and merge check (no client-side
pre-commit), is paid (per-user licensing), and runs on Java (no Node.js needed).

*For* `GitHub Rulesets`_, push rulesets enforce metadata via regex patterns —
they can match branch/tag names, commit messages, and author email, but have
no awareness of Conventional Commits semantics (types, scopes, breaking-change
markers). They apply server-side and require a GitHub plan (Free for public
repos, Team/Enterprise for private/internal repos with push rulesets). They
are not portable to other Git platforms and do not provide local pre-commit
feedback.

``DIY`` means you can implement a
capability with custom Git hooks or ``pre-commit`` scripts, but it is not
provided as a turnkey policy layer.
Expand All @@ -557,6 +584,14 @@ provided as a turnkey policy layer.
or service users (bots), but does not parse ``Co-authored-by:`` trailers
in commit messages.

.. [#f4] GitHub Rulesets enforce these via regex patterns in push rulesets
(metadata restrictions). They are regex-based and do not understand
Conventional Commits or Conventional Branch semantics.

.. [#f5] GitHub Rulesets require a GitHub plan. Push rulesets (metadata
restrictions) require Team or Enterprise plans for private/internal repos;
branch/tag rulesets are available on Free plans for public repos.


Versioning
----------
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