ci: add dependabot grouping and conventional commit instructions

.github/copilot-instructions.md

@@ -227,6 +227,100 @@ go generate ./...
 4. Add tests for new functionality
 5. Keep commits focused and well-described
 
+## Commit Message Format
+
+This project uses [Conventional Commits](https://www.conventionalcommits.org/) for automated version management and changelog generation via [Release Please](https://github.com/googleapis/release-please).
+
+### Required Format
+
+**ALWAYS** use conventional commit format for PR titles and commit messages:
+
+```
+<type>: <description>
+
+[optional body]
+
+[optional footer]
+```
+
+### Commit Types and Version Bumps
+
+| Type | Version Bump | When to Use | Example |
+|------|-------------|-------------|---------|
+| `feat:` | Minor (X.Y.0) | New features or functionality | `feat: add support for SQL Server 2025` |
+| `fix:` | Patch (X.Y.Z) | Bug fixes | `fix: resolve timeout issue in query parsing` |
+| `feat!:` or `BREAKING CHANGE:` | Major (X.0.0) | Breaking changes | `feat!: change CLI flag behavior` |
+| `docs:` | No bump | Documentation only changes | `docs: update README with examples` |
+| `chore:` | No bump | Maintenance tasks | `chore: update dependencies` |
+| `deps:` | No bump | Dependency updates | `deps: bump go-mssqldb to v1.10.0` |
+| `ci:` | No bump | CI/CD changes | `ci: update GitHub Actions workflow` |
+| `test:` | No bump | Test additions or fixes | `test: add coverage for edge cases` |
+| `refactor:` | No bump | Code refactoring without behavior change | `refactor: simplify command parsing` |
+| `perf:` | Patch (X.Y.Z) | Performance improvements | `perf: optimize batch processing` |
+
+### Examples
+
+Good commit messages:
+```
+feat: add --server-name flag for tunneled connections
+fix: help flags preprocessing for -h and -help
+deps: bump go-mssqldb to v1.9.8
+ci: add release-please workflow
+```
+
+Bad commit messages:
+```
+Update README
+Bug fix
+Added new feature
+Bump go directive to go 1.25.9
+```
+
+## Code Quality Standards
+
+- **Simplicity first**: Make every change as simple as possible. Minimal code impact. Maximum modularity.
+- **No laziness**: Find root causes. No temporary fixes. Senior developer standards.
+- **Minimal impact**: Changes should only touch what's necessary. Avoid introducing bugs.
+- **Write code for the maintenance programmer**: Write clear, concise code that is easy to read and understand.
+
+### No AI Slop
+
+Applies to all output: code, tests, docstrings, comments, PR descriptions, commit messages.
+
+**Prose and comments:**
+- No filler phrases: "This ensures that...", "In order to...", "It's worth noting..."
+- No over-commenting obvious code (comments that restate what the code does)
+- No bloated docstrings with "Validates:" bullet lists or "Note:" paragraphs
+- No redundant inner docstrings on helpers inside tests
+
+**Code:**
+- No redundant logic (e.g., `strings.ToLower()` inside `strings.EqualFold()`)
+- No duplicate validation (checking the same condition twice)
+- No excessive blank lines or formatting
+- No stale examples in docstrings that don't match the actual API
+
+## Pre-Push Checklist
+
+Before `git push`, always run the repo-specific checks. Default:
+
+- `git fetch upstream && git rebase upstream/main` (avoid "out-of-date with base branch")
+- **Review your own diff** (`git diff upstream/main`) -- check for AI slop, stale docstrings, weak assertions, anti-patterns. Read every changed line as a reviewer, not the author.
+- Build
+- Run full test suite
+- Run linter
+
+If repo has `.github/copilot-instructions.md`, follow its build/test/lint instructions instead.
+
+**Rule**: Review means reading every changed line as a hostile reviewer, not the author. For each addition, ask: (1) Is this used? grep for it. (2) Is this consistent with parallel code? Check sibling maps/lists. (3) Does the docstring match the code? Compare them line by line. (4) Would a senior engineer flag this? If you can't articulate why each line is correct, you haven't reviewed it.
+
+**Tests:**
+- DAMP over DRY: tests should be Descriptive And Meaningful Phrases, each readable top-to-bottom as a self-contained story
+- Test behavior, not implementation
+- Assertions must match claims: if the test says "all types", check all of them
+- Cover what motivated the fix: the case that caused the bug is the most important assertion
+
+When in doubt: would a senior engineer roll their eyes at this?
+
 ## Common Tasks
 
 ### Adding a New Command (Modern CLI)

.github/dependabot.yml

@@ -21,6 +21,10 @@ updates:
     commit-message:
       prefix: "deps"
       include: "scope"
+    groups:
+      go-dependencies:
+        patterns:
+          - "*"
 
   # Enable version updates for GitHub Actions
   - package-ecosystem: "github-actions"
@@ -34,3 +38,7 @@ updates:
       - "github-actions"
     commit-message:
       prefix: "ci"
+    groups:
+      github-actions:
+        patterns:
+          - "*"

.github/workflows/pr-title.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+name: PR Title Check
+on:
+  pull_request_target:
+    types: [opened, edited, synchronize]
+
+permissions:
+  pull-requests: read
+
+jobs:
+  validate:
+    name: Validate PR title
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: amannn/action-semantic-pull-request@48f256284bd46cdaab1048c3721360e808335d50 # v6.1.1
+        env:
+          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+        with:
+          types: |
+            feat
+            fix
+            docs
+            chore
+            deps
+            ci
+            test
+            refactor
+            perf
+            build
+          requireScope: false
+          subjectPattern: ^[a-z].+$
+          subjectPatternError: "Subject must start with a lowercase letter"