commit.template
Specify the pathname of a file to use as the template for new commit messages.Template your commit messages
git commits documentation templating
I am a reasonably lazy person. My house is a mess, I defer undertaking things unless absolutely necessary and I am generally a flake.
However, at one point and by the “patient” tuition of a colleague, I learned the value of extensively documenting work in commit messages. This has proven it’s value to me over the years I have been a developer so many times I am somewhat tyrannical in “encouraging” other colleagues to do the same.
So, here we are — my natural tendency to be as lazy as possible, combined with a wish to write decent commit messages. Luckily, this someone smarter than I has solved this problem; enter: Git templates!
Setting it up
From the man page:
Practically, this looks like:
$ cat $HOME/.gitconfig
[commit]
template = /opt/git-hooks/GIT_COMMITThen, you just need to create that file:
$ mkdir -p /opt/git-hooks/
$ cat <<EOF | sudo tee /opt/git-hooks/GIT_COMMIT
# Format:
# TICKET_ID (epic) type (scope): subject
#
# {body}
#
# BREAKING CHANGE:
# BREAKING CHANGE:
#
# "type" can be one of
# feat, fix, docs, style, refactor, test, chore
#
# Terminology:
# Project Owner: Client,
# Administrator: Admin,
# Customer: Website customer, users.
EOFThat’s it!
Using it
Because it’s included in your git configuration, it’s used every time a commit is generated:
$ cd $(mktemp -d)
$ git init
# Dump the commit message to STDOUT, rather than attempting to edit it.
# See https://git-scm.com/book/gr/v2/Git-Internals-Environment-Variables
# Note: This will create the error:
#
# Aborting commit; you did not edit the message.
#
# This is fine; if you want to edit messgage swap the "cat" part
# to be "vim" or "nano".
$ export GIT_EDITOR="cat"
$ touch foo
$ git add foo
$ git commit
# Format:
# TICKET_ID (epic) type (scope): subject
#
# {body}
#
# BREAKING CHANGE:
# BREAKING CHANGE:
#
# "type" can be one of
# feat, fix, docs, style, refactor, test, chore
#
# Terminology:
# Project Owner: Client,
# Administrator: Admin,
# Customer: Website customer, users.
# Please enter the commit message for your changes. Lines starting
# with '#' will be ignored, and an empty message aborts the commit.
#
# On branch master
#
# Initial commit
#
# Changes to be committed:
# new file: foo
#
Aborting commit due to empty commit message.See our new shiny commit template! It appears to be prefixed to the default commit template; I’m unsure quite why. I think this is fine.
In practice
Practically speaking, I find these templates mostly useful for:
-
Reminding me to include certain sections.
-
Adopting consistent terminology (see “Project Owner”)
I have also been quick to habituate, and will find that I start to ignore these guidelines unless some feedback loop has been implemented to verify that I am actually implementing the proposed standards.
However, they’re useful to ensure that I have consistent git messages, and though it’s now mostly habit, I still find it useful.