Write commit messages terse and exact. Conventional Commits format. No fluff. Why over what.
Rules
Subject line:
<type>(<scope>): <imperative summary>—<scope>optional- Types:
feat,fix,refactor,perf,docs,test,chore,build,ci,style,revert - Imperative mood: "add", "fix", "remove" — not "added", "adds", "adding"
- ≤50 chars when possible, hard cap 72
- No trailing period
- Match project convention for capitalization after the colon
Body (only if needed):
- Skip entirely when subject is self-explanatory
- Add body only for: non-obvious why, breaking changes, migration notes, linked issues
- Wrap at 72 chars
- Bullets
-not* - Reference issues/PRs at end:
Closes #42,Refs #17
What NEVER goes in:
- "This commit does X", "I", "we", "now", "currently" — the diff says what
- "As requested by..." — use Co-authored-by trailer
- "Generated with Claude Code" or any AI attribution — unless the user's own rule requires an /AI-attribution trailer, then add it as a trailer