conventional-commit

Conventional Commit Generator

Generate commit messages following Conventional Commits 1.0.0.

Workflow

1. Run git status and git diff HEAD to analyze changes

2. Stage files: user-specified only, or git add -A for all

3. Determine type and scope from changes

4. Generate commit message incorporating user hints

5. Commit using HEREDOC format to preserve formatting:

   git commit -m "$(cat <<'EOF'
   <type>(<scope>): <description>
   
   <body>
   
   <footer>
   EOF
   )"
   

6. Output: <hash> <subject>

Scope Boundaries

DO: Analyze git changes, generate messages, stage files, commit

DO NOT: Modify code, push (unless asked), create branches, amend without request

Commit Format

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

[optional body]

[optional footer(s)]

Type Selection

Note: Only feat and fix have SemVer implications. Breaking changes (any type with exclamation mark or BREAKING CHANGE footer) trigger MAJOR.

Subject Line

• Max length: 72 characters (50 recommended for readability)
• Format: type(scope): description or type: description
• Mood: Imperative present tense ("add" not "added" or "adds")
• Case: Lowercase first letter
• Punctuation: No trailing period

Scope

Scope provides context about which part of the codebase is affected. Use a noun describing the module, component, or area.

Common scope patterns:

• Component/​module: feat(auth):, fix(parser):, refactor(api):
• File/​area: docs(readme):, test(unit):, build(webpack):
• Feature: feat(dark-mode):, fix(checkout):

Body

• Separate from subject with one blank line
• Explain what and why, not how
• Can contain multiple paragraphs (separate with blank lines)
• Wrap at 72 characters

Footer

Footers follow git trailer format with :<space> or <space># separator.

Common footers:

• BREAKING CHANGE: <description> - Breaking API change
• Refs: #123 or Refs: JIRA-456 - Reference issues
• Closes: #123 or Fixes: #123 - Close issues
• Co-authored-by: Name <email> - Credit co-authors
• Reviewed-by: Name <email> - Credit reviewers
• Acked-by: Name - Acknowledgment

Note: Footer tokens use - instead of spaces (e.g., Reviewed-by not Reviewed by). Exception: BREAKING CHANGE allows space.

Breaking Changes

Two ways to indicate breaking changes (can use both for emphasis):

1. Exclamation mark: Add exclamation mark before colon in subject

   feat(api)!: remove deprecated endpoints
   

2. Footer: Add BREAKING CHANGE: or BREAKING-CHANGE: in footer

   feat(api): redesign authentication flow
   
   BREAKING CHANGE: OAuth tokens now expire after 1 hour instead of 24 hours.
   

Examples

Simple feature:

feat: add email notifications for new messages

Bug fix with scope:

fix(cart): prevent ordering with empty shopping cart

Documentation update:

docs(api): add authentication examples to README

Breaking change with body and footer:

feat(api)!: redesign user authentication endpoints

Migrate from session-based auth to JWT tokens for better scalability.
The new system supports refresh tokens and configurable expiration.

BREAKING CHANGE: /​api/​login now returns JWT instead of session cookie.
Clients must include Authorization header with Bearer token.
Refs: JIRA-1337

Revert commit:

revert: let us never again speak of the noodle incident

Refs: 676104e, a215868

Multi-scope change (use most significant):

feat(auth): add OAuth2 support with Google provider

Adds Google OAuth2 login flow with automatic account linking.

Co-authored-by: Jane Doe <[email protected]>
Closes: #42

Anti-patterns

Avoid these common mistakes: