Conventional Commits

Format all commit messages according to the Conventional Commits specification. This enables automated changelog generation, semantic versioning, and better commit history.

Format Structure

<type>[optional scope]: <description>

[optional body]

[optional footer(s)]

Commit Types

Required Types

feat: - A new feature (correlates with MINOR in Semantic Versioning)
fix: - A bug fix (correlates with PATCH in Semantic Versioning)

Common Additional Types

docs: - Documentation only changes
style: - Code style changes (formatting, missing semicolons, etc.)
refactor: - Code refactoring without bug fixes or new features
perf: - Performance improvements
test: - Adding or updating tests
build: - Build system or external dependencies changes
ci: - CI/CD configuration changes
chore: - Other changes that don't modify src or test files
revert: - Reverts a previous commit

Scope

An optional scope provides additional contextual information about the section of the codebase:

feat(parser): add ability to parse arrays
fix(auth): resolve token expiration issue
docs(readme): update installation instructions

Description

Must immediately follow the colon and space after the type/scope
Use imperative mood ("add feature" not "added feature" or "adds feature")
Don't capitalize the first letter
No period at the end
Keep it concise (typically 50-72 characters)

Body

Optional longer description providing additional context
Must begin one blank line after the description
Can consist of multiple paragraphs
Explain the "what" and "why" of the change, not the "how"

Breaking Changes

Breaking changes can be indicated in two ways:

1. Using `!` in the type/scope

feat!: send an email to the customer when a product is shipped
feat(api)!: send an email to the customer when a product is shipped

2. Using BREAKING CHANGE footer

feat: allow provided config object to extend other configs

BREAKING CHANGE: `extends` key in config file is now used for extending other config files

3. Both methods

chore!: drop support for Node 6

BREAKING CHANGE: use JavaScript features not available in Node 6.

Examples

Simple feature

feat: add user authentication

Feature with scope

feat(auth): add OAuth2 support

Bug fix with body

fix: prevent racing of requests

Introduce a request id and a reference to latest request. Dismiss
incoming responses other than from latest request.

Remove timeouts which were used to mitigate the racing issue but are
obsolete now.

Breaking change

feat!: migrate to new API client

BREAKING CHANGE: The API client interface has changed. All methods now
return Promises instead of using callbacks.

Documentation update

docs: correct spelling of CHANGELOG

Multi-paragraph body with footers

fix: prevent racing of requests

Introduce a request id and a reference to latest request. Dismiss
incoming responses other than from latest request.

Remove timeouts which were used to mitigate the racing issue but are
obsolete now.

Reviewed-by: Z
Refs: #123

Guidelines

Always use a type - Every commit must start with a type followed by a colon and space
Use imperative mood - Write as if completing the sentence "If applied, this commit will..."
Be specific - The description should clearly communicate what changed
Keep it focused - One logical change per commit
Use scopes when helpful - Scopes help categorize changes within a codebase
Document breaking changes - Always indicate breaking changes clearly

Semantic Versioning Correlation

fix: → PATCH version bump (1.0.0 → 1.0.1)
feat: → MINOR version bump (1.0.0 → 1.1.0)
BREAKING CHANGE → MAJOR version bump (1.0.0 → 2.0.0)

When to Use

Use this format for:

All git commits
Commit message generation
Pull request merge commits
When the user asks about commit messages or git commits

Common Mistakes to Avoid

❌ Added new feature (past tense, capitalized) ✅ feat: add new feature (imperative, lowercase)

❌ fix: bug (too vague) ✅ fix: resolve null pointer exception in user service

❌ feat: add feature (redundant) ✅ feat: add user profile page

❌ feat: Added OAuth support. (past tense, period) ✅ feat: add OAuth support

conventional-commits