Commit Message

WordPress Commit Message Generator

Generate a WordPress core commit message from a GitHub PR and its linked Trac ticket.

Follow the "WordPress Core Commit Message Format" section below when generating the commit message.

Context

• If a PR number is provided as $0, use that. Otherwise omit it from gh commands to use the current branch's PR.

Instructions

1. Get PR info and extract Trac ticket:

   • Fetch PR details using:

     gh pr view [pr-number] --json title,body,number,url --template '{{.title}}
     ---
     PR Number: {{.number}}
     PR URL: {{.url}}
     ---
     {{.body}}'
     

   • The PR information should help inform the commit message.
   • Look in the PR description for a line starting with Trac ticket:
   • The ticket URL may be a markdown link [text](url) or plain text URL
   • Extract the ticket number from the URL (e.g., https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/64419 → 64419)
   • If multiple Trac tickets are referenced, identify the primary ticket (the one being fixed). Additional tickets will become See #... references.
   • If no Trac ticket is found, ask the user for one
   • Note any changeset references (r12345 or [12345]) in the PR description for step 3.

2. Fetch Trac ticket details:

Always use the WordPress Trac MCP tools to fetch ticket details, including enough comments to review the full discussion when possible.

• Fetch the main ticket.
• Use the ticket's component field verbatim as the commit message prefix, but NOT if it's "General" (omit the prefix in that case)
• Use the ticket summary and description to help form the commit message
• Look for related ticket references (#12345) in the description
• Fetch related tickets to understand the relationship
• Include related tickets as See #... references in the commit message
• Reference related tickets in the description if appropriate to explain context
• Collect any changeset references (r12345 or [12345], e.g., "reverts r58123", "follow-up to [58123]") from the ticket and its discussion, combining them with any found in the PR description from step 1.

3. Explore discovered changesets:

Always use the WordPress Trac MCP tools to fetch changeset details, including the diff when it helps explain the relationship.

Use changeset information to understand relationships:

• What the original change did (for reverts or follow-ups)
• Related tickets that may need See #... references
• Context that should be mentioned in the commit message description
• Add a "Follow-up to rNNNNN" line when this commit directly continues, reverts, or fixes a previous changeset.

4. Build the props list:

   • Fetch the PR's props comment:

     gh pr view [pr-number] --json comments --jq '.comments[] | select(.author.login == "github-actions" and (.body | test("Core Committers: Use this line as a base for the props when committing in SVN:"))) | .body'
     

   • Extract the props list from the line starting with Props
   • If no props comment is found (new PRs or bot failure), build the props list from the PR author, reviewers, and Trac ticket participants instead.
   • GitHub usernames are NOT WordPress.org usernames. Resolve GitHub usernames (PR author, reviewers) to WordPress.org usernames with the official lookup API, batching every username into one call:

     curl -s -X POST https://profiles.wordpress.org/wp-json/wporg-github/v1/lookup/ -H 'Content-Type: application/json' -d '{"github_user":["USERNAME1","USERNAME2"]}'
     

     The response is a JSON object keyed by GitHub username. Each value is either {"slug":"...","profile":"..."}, where slug is the WordPress.org username, or false when no linked WordPress.org account exists. Do not guess on false: check whether the person appears in the Trac discussion under a WordPress.org name; otherwise flag them as unresolved (see Output).
   • Review the Trac ticket discussion. Add the profile name of any participant who contributed. Skip trivial contributions or obvious spam, but include folks when in doubt.
   • Merge all sources, deduplicating usernames. The PR bot already uses WordPress.org usernames. For Trac participants, use their WordPress.org profile name as shown on Trac. A name containing spaces is a display name, not a username — use the slug from the contributor's profiles.wordpress.org profile URL instead.

5. Generate the commit message:

   • Follow the WordPress commit message format guidelines below

Output

Output ONLY the commit message text, properly formatted and ready to copy. Do not include any other commentary or explanation. Use a markdown code block so it's easy to copy.

The one exception: if any contributors could not be resolved to a WordPress.org username, list them in a short note after the code block so the committer can resolve them manually. Never include unverified usernames in the Props line.

WordPress Core Commit Message Format

This skill documents the official formatting guidelines for WordPress core commit messages.

Message Structure

Component: Brief summary.

Longer description with more details, such as a `new_hook` being introduced with the context of a `$post` and a `$screen`.

More paragraphs can be added as needed.

Developed in: {GitHub PR URL}

Follow-up to r12345, r67890.

Props person, another.
Fixes #12345. See #67890.

Brief Summary (First Line)

• Must be one line, no line breaks
• Aim for ~50 characters, max 70
• Prefix with the ticket's component, used verbatim (unless it's "General", in which case omit the prefix)
• Use imperative mood: "Add feature" not "Adds feature" or "Added feature"
• Must end with a period

Description

• Be brief. Default to the shortest description that conveys the what and why — usually two to four sentences. When in doubt, cut. A short, correct description is better than a thorough one.
• Do NOT restate the diff or explain implementation mechanics (which methods, modes, or algorithms changed). That's the how; the diff already shows it.
• One short paragraph is typical. A second paragraph is the exception, not the norm — add one only when context genuinely requires it (e.g. explaining a related ticket or a non-obvious motivation).
• If the summary line fully captures the change, omit the description entirely (keep only the Developed in, Props, and Fixes lines).
• Separated from summary by a blank line
• Informed by both the PR and the Trac ticket, but summarize — do not absorb their length. The PR description's detail, test output, and links are context for you, not content to copy.
• Do NOT manually wrap lines
• Don't include time estimates or scheduling language
• Code/hooks in backticks: function_name(), hook_name
• # followed by a number auto-links to a Trac ticket, so reserve that form for Trac ticket references; write GitHub issues and PRs as full URLs
• Each sentence should begin with a capital letter and end with a period

Developed In Line

• Add Developed in: {PR URL} at the end of the description
• Must be preceded by a blank line
• Comes BEFORE Follow-up to line (if present)
• Must be followed by a blank line

Follow-up To Line (Optional)

• Add Follow-up to r12345, r67890. when this commit directly continues, reverts, or fixes a previous changeset
• Format changeset numbers with an r prefix, even when a source refers to them as [12345]
• Comes AFTER Developed in line
• Must be preceded by a blank line
• Must be followed by a blank line before Props

Props Line

• Give props to all contributors: patches, code suggestions, design, testing, reporting
• Format: Props username1, username2.
• No @ before usernames
• No colon after "Props"
• Separate usernames with comma + space
• Must end with a period
• Use WordPress.org usernames (check Trac for correct usernames)
• Don't use props anywhere except the Props line

Ticket References

• On their own line below Props
• Fixes #12345. - closes the ticket
• See #12345. - references without closing
• Multiple tickets: Fixes #123, #456. See #789.