We have very precise rules over how our git commit messages can be formatted. This leads to more readable messages that are easy to follow when looking through the project history. But also, we use the git commit messages to generate the AngularJS change log.
Each commit message consists of a header, a body and a footer. The header has a special format that includes a type, a scope and a subject:
<type>(<scope>): <subject>
<BLANK LINE>
<body>
<BLANK LINE>
<footer>
Any line of the commit message cannot be longer 100 characters! This allows the message to be easier to read on github as well as in various git tools.
Must be one of the following:
- feat: A new feature
- fix: A bug fix
- docs: Documentation only changes
- style: Changes that do not affect the meaning of the code (white-space, formatting, missing semi-colons, etc)
- refactor: A code change that neither fixes a bug or adds a feature
- perf: A code change that improves performance
- test: Adding missing tests
- chore: Changes to the build process or auxiliary tools and libraries such as documentation generation
The scope could be anything specifying place of the commit change. For example $location,
$browser, $compile, $rootScope, ngHref, ngClick, ngView, etc...
The subject contains succinct description of the change:
- use the imperative, present tense: "change" not "changed" nor "changes"
- don't capitalize first letter
- no dot (.) at the end
###Body Just as in the subject, use the imperative, present tense: "change" not "changed" nor "changes" The body should include the motivation for the change and contrast this with previous behavior.
###Footer The footer should contain any information about Breaking Changes and is also the place to reference GitHub issues that this commit Closes.
A detailed explanation can be found in this document.