conventional-commits

Conventional Commits (v1.0.0)

Produce consistent commit messages that parse into changelogs and drive semantic versioning.

Format

type(scope): description

[optional body]

[optional footers]

Rules: header on one line, scope is always included, separate sections with blank lines. Add ! before : for breaking changes (e.g., feat(api)!: remove v1).

Choosing the Type

User-facing changes:

• feat: new user-visible behavior — new CLI flags, UI components, API endpoints
• fix: corrected behavior — fixes crashes, handles edge cases, corrects output

Maintenance:

• refactor: structure change without behavior change — renaming, extracting utilities
• perf: performance improvement — faster algorithms, reduced allocations
• chore: general maintenance — dead code removal, tooling updates
• style: formatting only — whitespace, semicolons, no logic changes
• test: test-only changes — .test.ts, .spec.ts files
• build: build system — package.json, Cargo.toml, bundler config
• ci: CI/CD pipelines — GitHub Actions, deployment scripts
• docs: documentation files only — .md, .txt. Code comments use the type matching the actual code change.

Reverts:

• revert: undo a previous commit — revert: <original-message>

When unsure: new user behavior → feat, corrected behavior → fix, otherwise → chore or a more specific maintenance type.

Writing the Description

Use imperative mood, be specific, avoid generic words like "stuff" or "changes".

✅ feat(auth): add passwordless login
✅ fix(api): handle empty pagination cursor
❌ docs(agent): add behavioral guidelines and core principles  (too vague)
✅ docs(agent): add rules for dead code removal, build verification, security  (specific)

Breaking Changes

Mark in the header with !:

feat(api)!: remove deprecated v1 endpoints

Or add a BREAKING CHANGE: footer when you need an explanation:

feat(api): remove deprecated v1 endpoints

BREAKING CHANGE: /v1/* endpoints are removed; migrate to /v2/*.

Semantic Versioning Mapping

• fix → patch
• feat → minor
• Any breaking change (! or BREAKING CHANGE:) → major

Rules

• Subject line must be imperative mood ("add" not "added" or "adds")
• No period at end of subject line
• Keep subject under 72 characters
• Use BREAKING CHANGE: footer for breaking changes
• Map types to semver: fix→patch, feat→minor, breaking→major

When Asked to Write a Commit Message

Collect what changed, the scope/module, whether it's user-facing, and any issue IDs. Then produce a conventional header with optional body and footers.