Conventional Commits

Conventional Commits (v1.0.0)

Use the Conventional Commits spec to produce consistent commit messages that are easy to parse for changelogs and semantic versioning.

Commit message format (canonical)

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

[optional body]

[optional footer(s)]

Rules:

• Separate header, body, footers with a blank line.
• Keep the header on one line.
• Put ! immediately before : to mark a breaking change (e.g. feat!: ..., refactor(api)!: ...).

Choose a type

The spec allows any type, but these are common and widely supported by tooling:

• feat: introduce a new feature (user-facing)
• fix: bug fix (user-facing)
• docs: documentation-only changes
• refactor: refactor that neither fixes a bug nor adds a feature
• perf: performance improvement
• test: add or adjust tests
• build: build system/dependencies
• ci: CI configuration/scripts
• chore: maintenance tasks
• style: formatting (whitespace, missing semicolons, etc.)
• revert: revert a previous commit

Default choice when unsure:

• If users see new behavior → feat
• If users see corrected behavior → fix
• Otherwise → chore or a more specific maintenance type (refactor, build, ci)

Optional scope

Use scope to clarify the area impacted.

Format:

type(scope): description

Guidelines:

• Use a short noun: api, auth, ui, db, cli, deps, docs.
• Use repo/module/package name when working in a monorepo.
• If scope adds no clarity, omit it.

Description (subject)

Write the description as a short summary of what the change does.

Guidelines:

• Use imperative mood: “add”, “fix”, “remove”, “update”.
• Avoid ending punctuation.
• Be specific; avoid “stuff”, “changes”, “update things”.

Examples:

feat(auth): add passwordless login
fix(api): handle empty pagination cursor
chore(deps): bump react to 18.3.0

Body (optional)

Use the body to explain motivation, constraints, or high-level implementation notes.

Guidelines:

• Prefer complete sentences.
• If helpful, include:
  • why the change was needed
  • what approach was chosen
  • notable trade-offs

Example:

refactor(parser): simplify tokenization

Replace the regex pipeline with a small state machine to reduce backtracking.

Footers (optional)

Footers are key/value-like lines at the end. Use them for:

• breaking change details
• issue references
• metadata used by tooling

Examples:

Refs: #123
Closes: #456
Co-authored-by: Name <email@example.com>

Breaking changes

Mark breaking changes in one (or both) of these ways:

1. Add ! in the header:

feat(api)!: remove deprecated v1 endpoints

2. Add a BREAKING CHANGE: footer (recommended when you need an explanation):

feat(api): remove deprecated v1 endpoints

BREAKING CHANGE: /v1/* endpoints are removed; migrate to /v2/*.

Reverts

Use the revert type when undoing a previous change.

Example:

revert: feat(auth): add passwordless login

This reverts commit 1a2b3c4.

Semantic versioning mapping (typical)

Common mapping for automated version bumps:

• fix → patch
• feat → minor
• any breaking change (! or BREAKING CHANGE:) → major

When asked to “write a commit message”

Collect missing inputs quickly:

• What changed? (1–2 sentences)
• Scope/module? (optional)
• User-facing? (feature vs fix vs chore)
• Breaking? (yes/no; migration note if yes)
• Any issue IDs to reference?

Then produce:

1. A conventional header
2. Optional body (only if it adds clarity)
3. Optional footers (Refs:, Closes:, BREAKING CHANGE:)

Ready-to-use templates

Minimal:

<type>: <description>

With scope:

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

Breaking change with explanation:

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

BREAKING CHANGE: <what breaks and how to migrate>