diff --git a/_build/deploy-branch.sh b/_build/deploy-branch.sh
index d3be5be..a5ce2ca 100755
--- a/_build/deploy-branch.sh
+++ b/_build/deploy-branch.sh
@@ -38,15 +38,10 @@ update-phpdoc-list.sh \
     "$TRAVIS_BRANCH" "branch" "<code>$TRAVIS_BRANCH</code> branch" "$(date +%s)"
 
 # commit phpDocs
-echo "Committing changes..."
-git add --all \
+github-commit.sh \
+    "Update phpDocumentor class docs for $TRAVIS_BRANCH branch @ $TRAVIS_COMMIT" \
     "$DEPLOYMENT_DIR/phpDoc/$DEPLOYMENT_ID.cache" "$DEPLOYMENT_DIR/phpDoc/$DEPLOYMENT_ID" \
     "$DEPLOYMENT_DIR/_data/phpDoc.yml"
-git commit \
-    --message="Update phpDocumentor class docs for $TRAVIS_BRANCH branch @ $TRAVIS_COMMIT" \
-    "$DEPLOYMENT_DIR/phpDoc/$DEPLOYMENT_ID.cache" "$DEPLOYMENT_DIR/phpDoc/$DEPLOYMENT_ID" \
-    "$DEPLOYMENT_DIR/_data/phpDoc.yml"
-echo
 
 # deploy phpDocs
 github-deploy.sh "$TRAVIS_REPO_SLUG" "heads/$TRAVIS_BRANCH" "$TRAVIS_COMMIT"
diff --git a/_build/deploy-release.sh b/_build/deploy-release.sh
index ef3f8e7..564c699 100755
--- a/_build/deploy-release.sh
+++ b/_build/deploy-release.sh
@@ -72,12 +72,9 @@ if [ "$DEPLOY_PHPDOC_RELEASES" == "true" ]; then
             "$TRAVIS_TAG" "version" "Pico ${TRAVIS_TAG#v}" "$(date +%s)"
 
         # commit phpDocs
-        echo "Committing phpDoc changes..."
-        git add --all "$DEPLOYMENT_DIR/phpDoc/$DEPLOYMENT_ID" "$DEPLOYMENT_DIR/_data/phpDoc.yml"
-        git commit \
-            --message="Update phpDocumentor class docs for $TRAVIS_TAG" \
+        github-commit.sh \
+            "Update phpDocumentor class docs for $TRAVIS_TAG" \
             "$DEPLOYMENT_DIR/phpDoc/$DEPLOYMENT_ID" "$DEPLOYMENT_DIR/_data/phpDoc.yml"
-        echo
     fi
 fi
 
@@ -90,12 +87,9 @@ if [ "$VERSION_STABILITY" != "stable" ]; then
             "release" "$TRAVIS_TAG" "blue"
 
         # commit version badge
-        echo "Committing version badge..."
-        git add "$DEPLOYMENT_DIR/badges/pico-version.svg"
-        git commit \
-            --message="Update version badge for $TRAVIS_TAG" \
+        github-commit.sh \
+            "Update version badge for $TRAVIS_TAG" \
             "$DEPLOYMENT_DIR/badges/pico-version.svg"
-        echo
     fi
 
     # update version file
@@ -105,12 +99,9 @@ if [ "$VERSION_STABILITY" != "stable" ]; then
             "$VERSION_FULL"
 
         # commit version file
-        echo "Committing version file..."
-        git add "$DEPLOYMENT_DIR/_data/version.yml"
-        git commit \
-            --message="Update version file for $TRAVIS_TAG" \
+        github-commit.sh \
+            "Update version file for $TRAVIS_TAG" \
             "$DEPLOYMENT_DIR/_data/version.yml"
-        echo
     fi
 
     # update cloc statistics
@@ -120,12 +111,9 @@ if [ "$VERSION_STABILITY" != "stable" ]; then
             "$DEPLOYMENT_DIR/_data/clocRelease.yml"
 
         # commit cloc statistics
-        echo "Commiting cloc statistics..."
-        git add "$DEPLOYMENT_DIR/_data/clocCore.yml" "$DEPLOYMENT_DIR/_data/clocRelease.yml"
-        git commit \
-            --message="Update cloc statistics for $TRAVIS_TAG" \
+        github-commit.sh \
+            "Update cloc statistics for $TRAVIS_TAG" \
             "$DEPLOYMENT_DIR/_data/clocCore.yml" "$DEPLOYMENT_DIR/_data/clocRelease.yml"
-        echo
     fi
 fi
 
diff --git a/_build/tools/github-commit.sh b/_build/tools/github-commit.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..6521160
--- /dev/null
+++ b/_build/tools/github-commit.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+
+##
+# Commits changes to a Git repo
+#
+# @author  Daniel Rudolf
+# @link    http://picocms.org
+# @license http://opensource.org/licenses/MIT
+#
+
+set -e
+
+# parameters
+COMMIT_MESSAGE="$1"     # commit message
+shift 1
+
+# print parameters
+echo "Commiting changes..."
+printf 'COMMIT_MESSAGE="%s"\n' "$COMMIT_MESSAGE"
+echo
+
+# stage changes
+COMMIT_FILES=()
+while [ $# -gt 0 ]; do
+    if [ -n "$(git status --porcelain "$1")" ]; then
+        if [ -d "$1" ]; then
+            git add --all "$1"
+        elif [ -f "$1" ] || [ -h "$1" ]; then
+            git add "$1"
+        else
+            echo "Unable to commit '$1': No such file, symbolic link or directory" >&2
+            exit 1
+        fi
+
+        COMMIT_FILES+=( "$1" )
+        shift
+    fi
+done
+
+# commit changes
+if [ ${#COMMIT_FILES[@]} -gt 0 ]; then
+    git commit --message="$COMMIT_MESSAGE" "${COMMIT_FILES[@]}"
+fi
+
+echo