12 Best Practices for Git Commit Messages

Introduction to Professional Commit Messages

In the world of software development, communication is just as vital as the code itself. Every time a developer saves a change in Git, they are not just storing a snapshot of files; they are leaving a trail of breadcrumbs for their future selves and their teammates. A well written commit message serves as a clear explanation of why a change was made, what problem it solved, and how it fits into the broader context of the application. Without these logs, a project history quickly becomes a confusing mess of generic phrases that offer no real value during troubleshooting or audits.

Understanding the importance of these messages is the first step toward becoming a more effective engineer. When you treat version control logs as documentation, you create a searchable and readable narrative of your project growth. This practice is especially critical in large organizations where dozens of developers might touch the same codebase over several years. By following standardized practices, you ensure that anyone can look at a specific line of code and understand the intent behind its existence without having to track down the original author. This blog post explores the fundamental rules that turn basic notes into professional records.

The Structure of a Perfect Commit

A professional commit message usually follows a specific structure consisting of a subject line, a blank line, and an optional body. The subject line acts as a summary of the change, much like the headline of a news article. It should be concise yet descriptive enough to give a clear idea of the modification. Following this with a blank line is essential because many Git tools use that gap to distinguish between the summary and the detailed explanation, ensuring that the history remains readable in different interfaces and command line views.

The body of the message is where you provide the necessary details that the subject line cannot cover. Here, you should focus on the why instead of the how. Since the code changes themselves show the how, the message should explain the motivation for the change and any side effects it might have. Using this space effectively reduces the time spent in meetings or code reviews, as the reasoning is already documented right next to the code. This structured approach helps maintain high standards in platform engineering where stability and clear documentation are mandatory for success.

Using the Imperative Mood

One of the most widely accepted conventions in Git is writing the subject line in the imperative mood. This means your message should sound like a command or an instruction, such as Fix bug or Add user authentication. This style matches the default messages generated by Git itself when you perform actions like merges or reverts. It creates a consistent tone across the entire project history, making the logs feel unified even if they were written by hundreds of different contributors over time.

To test if your message is in the correct mood, try placing it at the end of the sentence If applied, this commit will. For example, If applied, this commit will Fix the header layout makes sense, whereas Fixed the header layout does not. Using this active voice helps in maintaining a professional and professional tone. It also keeps the messages short and direct, which is vital for quick scanning during intense debugging sessions. By adopting this habit, you align your work with global industry standards used by major open source projects and tech giants.

Capitalization and Punctuation Rules

Consistency in formatting is what separates a clean repository from a messy one. A simple yet effective rule is to always capitalize the first letter of the subject line and never end it with a period. Subject lines are headers, not full sentences, and removing the trailing period saves valuable space. While these might seem like minor details, they contribute significantly to the overall aesthetic and professional feel of the developer experience within the command line and web interfaces.

In the body of the message, you should use normal sentence case and proper punctuation. This makes longer explanations easier to read and comprehend. Since the body is meant for detailed context, treating it like a short letter ensures that your teammates can follow your logic without struggling with poor grammar or confusing abbreviations. Clear communication here is just as important as the observability tools you use to monitor your applications, as both provide insight into the state and health of your software system over its lifecycle.

Table: Summary of Git Commit Best Practices

Limiting Subject Line Length

A common mistake among beginners is writing excessively long subject lines that try to explain everything at once. The industry standard is to keep the subject line under 50 characters, though up to 72 is generally acceptable for more complex summaries. This limitation is not arbitrary; many Git hosting platforms and terminal tools will truncate messages that are too long, making the history difficult to skim. Keeping it short forces you to think critically about the most important aspect of your change.

If you find it difficult to summarize your work in such a short space, it might be a sign that your commit is doing too much. Professional developers aim for atomic commits, which means each change should represent a single logical unit of work. This approach makes your messages naturally shorter and more focused. This level of granularity is essential when working with advanced deployment techniques like canary releases because it allows you to pinpoint exactly which small change might be causing an issue in a production environment without having to sift through massive amounts of unrelated code.

Providing Context in the Body

While the subject line is for the what, the body of the commit message is for the context. This is the place to mention any related issue numbers, tickets, or discussions that led to the change. If you are fixing a bug, describe the symptoms and how this change addresses them. If you are adding a feature, explain the use case it supports. This detailed information is a lifesaver when a developer looks at this code six months from now and wonders why a certain decision was made.

Good body text avoids stating the obvious. You do not need to say that you added a function if the code shows the new function. Instead, explain why that function was necessary in the first place. For example, mention that it replaces a deprecated library or improves performance for mobile users. This deep level of reasoning is a core part of gitops where every infrastructure change must be transparent and well documented to ensure that the automated systems can be audited and understood by the human operators managing the cluster.

Atomic Commits for Better History

An atomic commit is a commit that applies only one single change, fix, or feature. Many developers fall into the trap of grouping several unrelated fixes into a single commit because it seems faster at the time. However, this makes the commit history much harder to navigate. If one small part of a large commit causes a bug, you have to revert the entire thing, potentially losing other good work in the process. Smaller, focused commits are much easier to review and test.

• Keep refactoring separate from new feature development to ensure clear diffs.
• Commit bug fixes individually as soon as they are tested and verified.
• Avoid including unrelated whitespace changes or formatting in a functional commit.
• Ensure each commit leaves the project in a buildable and working state.

By following the principle of atomic commits, you make the job of the reviewer much easier. They can follow your train of thought step by step rather than being overwhelmed by a massive wall of changes. This practice also integrates well with feature flags where you might want to commit the code for a new feature but keep it hidden until it is ready for release. Small, clear commits allow you to manage these transitions with much higher precision and lower risk to the overall stability of the application.

Link Issues and Requirements

Most professional development environments use issue tracking systems like Jira, GitHub Issues, or GitLab. One of the best ways to add value to your commit messages is by including a reference to the specific ticket number you are working on. This creates a bi directional link between your code and your project management tool. It allows anyone looking at the ticket to see the exact code that resolved it, and anyone looking at the code to see the original requirement or bug report.

Including these references usually happens at the end of the commit body. You might use phrases like Closes #123 or Fixes JIRA-456. This is especially helpful during the shift left testing phase of a project, where developers are encouraged to think about quality and requirements as early as possible. When you link your commits to specific goals, you provide a clear audit trail that helps in maintaining compliance and project transparency, which is a major advantage for any engineering team striving for high delivery standards.

Avoid Generic and Lazy Messages

We have all seen commit logs filled with messages like Update, Bug fix, or Oops. While these might seem harmless during a late night coding session, they are essentially useless. They tell the reader nothing about what actually changed or why. If a developer needs to find the exact moment a specific bug was introduced, these generic messages force them to manually inspect dozens of commits, wasting hours of valuable time that could have been saved by a few seconds of thoughtful writing.

To avoid this, make it a rule never to commit without a descriptive summary. If you find yourself writing a generic message, take a deep breath and look at your diff again. What did you really do? If the change is too small to describe, perhaps it should be combined with another related change. If it is too big to describe, it should be broken down. This discipline is a key part of finops in a sense, as it optimizes human resources and time, ensuring that the team is not wasting money on inefficient workflows caused by poor documentation and unreadable version control history.

Conclusion

Writing great Git commit messages is a skill that pays dividends throughout the life of a project. By following these twelve best practices, you transform your version control history from a simple storage locker into a powerful documentation tool. Clear subject lines, detailed bodies, and consistent formatting ensure that your team can collaborate effectively and resolve issues faster. Remember that you are writing these messages for a reader who may not have the same context as you do right now, including your future self. Professionalism in your logs reflects your attention to detail and your respect for your colleagues. As you continue to grow as a developer, make these habits a natural part of your workflow. The time invested in crafting a meaningful message is always less than the time lost trying to decipher a cryptic one later. Start today by reviewing your recent history and identifying where you can apply these rules for a cleaner and more professional codebase that stands the test of time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why should I care about commit messages?

Good messages help teammates understand your work, speed up code reviews, and make it easier to track down bugs in the future.

What is the ideal length for a subject line?

You should aim for 50 characters or less to ensure the summary is fully visible in all Git tools and interfaces.

Why do people use the imperative mood?

The imperative mood sounds like a command which matches Git internal messages and keeps the log consistent and professional for all users.

Should I always include a body in my commit?

Not necessarily for very small changes but a body is highly recommended for any change that requires context or explanation of intent.

What is an atomic commit?

An atomic commit is a single logical change that does one thing only making it easier to understand test and revert if needed.

How do I link a commit to a Jira ticket?

You can add the ticket number like JIRA-123 in the subject or body and most tools will automatically link them for you.

Can I change a commit message after I have committed?

Yes you can use the git commit --amend command if you have not pushed the changes to a shared remote repository yet.

Why should I avoid the period at the end of a subject?

Removing the period follows established conventions and saves space since the subject line is treated like a title or a headline.

What does 'Why over How' mean?

The code shows what changed while the message should explain the motivation and reasoning behind making that specific change to the system.

Is it okay to use emojis in commit messages?

Some teams love them for categorization but others find them unprofessional so always check your team style guide before using them in code.

What is the 72 character rule for the body?

It is recommended to wrap text in the body at 72 characters so that it remains readable in a standard terminal window interface.

How do I describe a revert in a commit message?

Git does this automatically but you should always add a note explaining why the original change had to be undone for future reference.

Should I commit multiple bug fixes at once?

No it is much better to commit each fix separately to keep the history clean and make it easier to isolate specific changes.

How do I handle a commit that only fixes a typo?

A simple subject line like Fix typo in README is perfect and usually does not require a detailed body for the reader.

Does better commit writing help my career?

Yes it shows you are a disciplined developer who values communication and team success making you a more valuable asset to any company.