A useful template for commit messages

.gitmessage

# <type>: If applied, this commit will <subject>
# |<----  Using a Maximum Of 50 Characters  ---->|

# Explain what and why not how this change is being made
# |<----   Try To Limit Each Line to a Maximum Of 72 Characters   ---->|

# Provide any references to tickets, articles or other resources
# Example: See #123, Fixes #456

# --- COMMIT END ---
# Type can be 
#    feat     (new feature)
#    fix      (bug fix)
#    refactor (refactoring production code)
#    style    (formatting, missing semi colons, etc; no code change)
#    docs     (changes to documentation)
#    test     (adding or refactoring tests; no production code change)
#    chore    (updating grunt tasks etc; no production code change)
#    revert   (reverts a previous commit)
#    perf     (changes that improves performance)
#    bump     (increase the version of something)  
# --------------------
# Remember to
#    Capitalize the subject line
#    Use the imperative mood in the subject line
#    Do not end the subject line with a period
#    Separate subject from body with a blank line
#    Use the body to explain what and why vs. how

README.md

To do this in Git, save the above content in a file (eg ~/.gitmessage) and run:

git config --global commit.template ~/.gitmessage

If you allow empty commit messages set

git config --global commit.cleanup strip

To prevent git from using the template as the commit message.

References:

• A useful template for commit messages
• How to Write a Git Commit Message
• 5 Useful Tips For A Better Commit Message
• A Note About Git Commit Messages