🧠 Mastering Git: Writing Meaningful Commit Messages

In this article, we’ll explore why good commit messages matter and how you can follow best practices, including the popular conventional commit style (e.g., feat:, fix:).

Why Good Commit Messages Matter

A well-written commit message:

Explains why something was changed
Helps your team understand the context behind changes
Makes it easier to debug, review, or revert code
Improves collaboration and code maintainability
Can be used to auto-generate changelogs

Think of each commit as a log entry in the history of your project — not just for others, but also for your future self!

The Anatomy of a Good Commit Message

A good commit message should be concise, descriptive, and follow a consistent format.

✅ Basic Format

<type>: <subject>

<body> (optional)

🔧 Type (required)

The type describes what kind of change this is. These are typically short codes that help categorize the nature of the commit.

Here are some commonly used types:

Type	Description
`feat`	A new feature
`fix`	A bug fix
`docs`	Documentation only changes
`style`	Code style changes (no logic)
`refactor`	Code refactoring (no features/bugs)
`perf`	Performance improvements
`test`	Adding tests or fixing them
`chore`	Maintenance tasks (e.g., build, deps)
`ci`	CI/CD configuration changes
`build`	Build system or external dependency changes
`revert`	Reverts a previous commit

📝 Subject (required)

A brief summary (50 characters or less) of the change.

💬 Body (optional)

If needed, explain what and why you did something. Avoid the “how” — the code shows that.

✨ Examples of Good Commit Messages

feat: add user profile page

fix: prevent null pointer exception in login flow

docs: update contributing guide with setup instructions

refactor: extract validation logic into separate module

perf: optimize image loading speed by lazy-loading thumbnails

test: add unit tests for cart calculation logic

chore: upgrade dependencies in package.json

revert: revert accidental deletion of core library

🛠 Tips for Better Commits

Use the imperative mood: Like “Fix bug” instead of “Fixed bug” or “Fixes bug”.
Example: feat: add password strength meter ✅ vs feat: added password strength meter ❌
Keep it concise: Aim for clarity over verbosity.
Link to issues or PRs: If applicable, reference an issue or pull request.
Terminal window
```
feat(auth): implement email verification #1234
```
Group related changes: Each commit should do one thing. Avoid large commits with unrelated changes.
Review before committing: Double-check your changes (git diff) and ensure your message reflects them accurately.
Amend when necessary: Don’t be afraid to edit your last commit:
Terminal window
```
git commit --amend
```

🧰 Tools That Help

Commitizen – Interactive CLI to guide you through creating conventional commits.
Husky + Commitlint – Enforce commit conventions via linting rules.
VSCode Extensions – Many extensions help format and validate commit messages.

🎯 Summary

Writing good Git commit messages is a small investment that pays off over time. By adopting a standard like Conventional Commits, you’ll make your repository more readable, searchable, and maintainable.

Start today with:

git commit -m "feat(blog): introduce conventional commit style"