A note about Git commit template | Joenio Marques da Costa

git config commit.template manpage

I always forget how to write good commit messages.

This post document how to use a template file for new commit messages.

First, create ~/.gitcommit file with the content below.

Fix X to allow Y to use Z

# Resolves: #123
# See also: #456, #789
#
# Commit message examples:
# -----------------------
# - Fix typo in README.md
# - Remove X & Add Y to allow Z
# - Update header logo
# - Add Polish language
# - Correct spelling of CHANGELOG
# - Drop support for Node 6
# - Fix failing CompositePropertySourceTests
# - Rework @PropertySource early parsing logic
# - Add tests for ImportSelector meta-data
# - Update docbook dependency and generate epub
# - Polish mockito usage
#
# If you need some background, read:
# ---------------------------------
# Capitalized, short (50 chars or less) summary
# 
# More detailed explanatory text, if necessary.  Wrap it to about 72
# characters or so.  In some contexts, the first line is treated as the
# subject of an email and the rest of the text as the body.  The blank
# line separating the summary from the body is critical (unless you omit
# the body entirely); tools like rebase can get confused if you run the
# two together.
# 
# Write your commit message in the imperative: "Fix bug" and not "Fixed bug"
# or "Fixes bug."  This convention matches up with commit messages generated
# by commands like git merge and git revert.
# 
# Further paragraphs come after blank lines.
# 
# - Bullet points are okay, too
# 
# - Typically a hyphen or asterisk is used for the bullet, followed by a
#   single space, with blank lines in between, but conventions vary here
# 
# - Use a hanging indent
#
# References:
# ----------
# - https://tbaggery.com/2008/04/19/a-note-about-git-commit-messages.html
# - https://www.conventionalcommits.org/en/v1.0.0/
# - https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/writing-good-commit-messages-a-practical-guide/ 
# - https://cbea.ms/git-commit/

Then, say to Git to use ~/.gitcommit file as template for new commit messages.


git config --global commit.template ~/.gitcommit

Voilà, now every time you run git commit the template message is displayed and you’ll never forget how to write good commit messages ;)