Commit Message Generator

Generate clear, conventional commit messages from git diffs.

Quick Start

Analyze staged changes and generate message:

git diff --staged

Then generate message following conventional commits format

Instructions

Step 1: Analyze Changes

Review the git diff to understand:

• What files changed

• What functionality was added/modified/removed

• Scope of changes (component, module, feature)

• Breaking changes or deprecations

git diff --staged

or for specific files

git diff --staged path/to/file

Step 2: Determine Commit Type

feat: New feature

• Adding new functionality

• New user-facing capability

• New API endpoint

fix: Bug fix

• Fixing a bug

• Correcting behavior

• Resolving an issue

docs: Documentation

• README updates

• Code comments

• API documentation

style: Code style

• Formatting changes

• Missing semicolons

• Whitespace changes

• No code logic changes

refactor: Code refactoring

• Restructuring code

• No functionality change

• Performance improvements

test: Tests

• Adding tests

• Updating tests

• Test infrastructure

chore: Maintenance

• Dependency updates

• Build configuration

• CI/CD changes

• Tooling updates

perf: Performance

• Performance improvements

• Optimization changes

ci: CI/CD

• CI configuration

• Build scripts

• Deployment changes

build: Build system

• Build tool changes

• External dependencies

revert: Revert

• Reverting previous commit

Step 3: Identify Scope

Scope indicates what part of codebase changed:

• Component name: (button) , (navbar)

• Module name: (auth) , (api)

• Feature area: (payments) , (search)

• Package name: (core) , (utils)

Optional but recommended for clarity.

Step 4: Write Description

Subject line (first line):

• Use imperative mood ("add" not "added")

• No period at end

• Max 50-72 characters

• Lowercase after type

• Clear and concise

Body (optional, after blank line):

• Explain what and why, not how

• Wrap at 72 characters

• Use bullet points for multiple changes

• Reference issues/tickets

Footer (optional):

• Breaking changes: BREAKING CHANGE: description

• Issue references: Closes #123 , Fixes #456

• Co-authors: Co-authored-by: Name <email>

Step 5: Format Message

Basic format:

<type>(<scope>): <description>

[optional body]

[optional footer]

Examples:

feat(auth): add JWT token refresh mechanism

Implement automatic token refresh when access token expires. Tokens are refreshed 5 minutes before expiration.

Closes #234

fix(api): handle null response in user endpoint

Previously crashed when user data was null. Now returns 404 with appropriate error message.

Fixes #567

docs(readme): update installation instructions

Add prerequisites section and troubleshooting guide.

refactor(utils): simplify date formatting logic

Extract common date operations into helper functions. No functionality changes.

chore(deps): upgrade react to v18.2.0

Update react and react-dom dependencies. Update tests to match new API.

Common Patterns

Multiple changes in one commit:

feat(dashboard): add user analytics and export

• Add analytics charts for user activity
• Implement CSV export functionality
• Add date range filter

Closes #123, #124

Breaking change:

feat(api)!: change authentication endpoint structure

BREAKING CHANGE: Auth endpoints now use /v2/auth prefix. Update client code to use new endpoints.

Migration guide: docs/migration-v2.md

Revert commit:

revert: feat(auth): add JWT token refresh

This reverts commit abc123def456. Reason: Causing issues in production.

Co-authored commit:

feat(search): implement fuzzy search algorithm

Co-authored-by: Jane Doe <jane@example.com>

Commit Message Quality

Good commit messages:

• Clear and descriptive

• Explain why, not just what

• Reference related issues

• Follow conventions consistently

• Atomic (one logical change)

Bad commit messages:

• "fix stuff"

• "WIP"

• "updates"

• "asdf"

• "fix fix fix"

Workflow Integration

Before committing:

• Review changes: git diff --staged

• Ensure changes are atomic

• Generate appropriate message

• Commit: git commit -m "type(scope): description"

For detailed commits:

• Stage changes: git add files

• Open editor: git commit

• Write multi-line message

• Save and close

Amending last commit:

git commit --amend

Edit message in editor

Interactive staging:

git add -p # Stage hunks interactively git commit # Write message for staged changes

Conventional Commits Spec

Format: <type>[optional scope]: <description>

Required:

• type: Must be one of the defined types

• description: Brief summary of change

Optional:

• scope: Component/module affected

• body: Detailed explanation

• footer: Breaking changes, issue references

Rules:

• Type must be lowercase

• Scope in parentheses

• Colon and space after scope

• Description starts lowercase

• No period at end of description

• Body separated by blank line

• Footer separated by blank line

Advanced

For complex scenarios:

• Multi-commit features

• Monorepo commit conventions

• Automated commit message validation

• Commit message templates

• Semantic versioning integration