Commit Messages

Conventional Commits format for clear history.

Format

<type>(<scope>): <subject>

[optional body]

[optional footer]

Types

Type	Purpose	Changelog
`feat`	New feature	Minor version bump
`fix`	Bug fix	Patch version bump
`docs`	Documentation only	No version bump
`style`	Formatting, whitespace	No version bump
`refactor`	Code change, no behavior change	No version bump
`perf`	Performance improvement	Patch version bump
`test`	Adding tests	No version bump
`build`	Build system changes	No version bump
`ci`	CI configuration	No version bump
`chore`	Maintenance tasks	No version bump
`revert`	Revert previous commit	Varies

Scopes

Common scopes for React projects:

Scope	Usage
`auth`	Authentication features
`users`	User management
`ui`	UI components
`api`	API services
`config`	Configuration
`deps`	Dependencies

Examples

Good Commits

feat(auth): add JWT token refresh
 
fix(users): resolve infinite loop in profile page
 
docs(readme): update installation instructions
 
refactor(api): simplify error handling logic
 
test(auth): add unit tests for login flow
 
chore(deps): upgrade React to v18.2

With Body

feat(auth): implement OAuth2 login
 
Add Google and GitHub OAuth providers.
Includes token refresh and session management.
 
Closes #123

Breaking Change

feat(api)!: change response format
 
BREAKING CHANGE: API responses now use `data` wrapper.
 
Before: { users: [...] }
After: { data: { users: [...] } }

Rules

Imperative mood — "add feature" not "added feature"
Lowercase — Type and scope in lowercase
No period — Subject line doesn't end with period
Max 72 chars — Subject line length limit
Blank line — Between subject and body

Bad Examples

# ❌ Avoid
updated stuff
WIP
fix bug
FEAT: Add feature
feat(auth): Added new login.
misc changes

Commitlint Setup

pnpm add -D @commitlint/cli @commitlint/config-conventional

// commitlint.config.js
export default {
  extends: ['@commitlint/config-conventional'],
  rules: {
    'type-enum': [
      2,
      'always',
      ['feat', 'fix', 'docs', 'style', 'refactor', 'perf', 'test', 'build', 'ci', 'chore', 'revert'],
    ],
    'scope-case': [2, 'always', 'lower-case'],
    'subject-case': [2, 'always', 'lower-case'],
    'subject-max-length': [2, 'always', 72],
  },
};

Husky Hook

# .husky/commit-msg
npx --no -- commitlint --edit $1

Git Aliases

# ~/.gitconfig
[alias]
  cm = commit -m
  co = checkout
  br = branch
  st = status
  lg = log --oneline --graph --decorate

Branch Naming Documentation Standards