Concise Commit Messages

Core Rules

• Subject line: 50 characters max
• Imperative mood: "Add feature" not "Added feature"
• Present tense: "Fix bug" not "Fixed bug"
• Capitalize first word, no period at end
• Body (optional): Explain WHY, use bullets, 72 chars/line

Format

Subject line:

<verb> <what> [context]

With body (if needed):

<subject line>

- Why this change matters
- Key impact or constraint
- Related context

Action Verbs

Specific (use these):

• add - new feature, file, dependency
• remove - delete code, dependency, file
• fix - bug, error, regression
• refactor - restructure without changing behavior
• extract - pull out logic to separate unit
• update - modify existing (when more specific verb doesn't fit)

Vague (avoid):

• change, modify, adjust, tweak, improve

Examples

Good:

Add user authentication module
Fix null pointer in payment processor
Refactor database queries to use connection pool
Extract validation logic to separate validator class

Bad:

Updated the code to make it better
Fixed some bugs and added new stuff
Changes to improve performance and fix issues
Added a new feature that allows users to authenticate

Anti-patterns

❌ Paragraphs - use bullets instead ❌ Past tense - "Added" → "Add" ❌ Vague verbs - "Update" → "Extract/Refactor/Fix" ❌ Implementation details - focus on WHAT and WHY, not HOW ❌ Multiple unrelated changes - split into separate commits