Writing Commit Messages

References

• If the change relates to a GitHub issue, PR, or discussion, list the relevant numbers on their own lines after the subject, separated by a blank line. E.g. #1234
• If there are no references, omit this section entirely (no blank line).

Long form description

• Describe what changed, what the previous behavior was, and how the new behavior works at a high level.
• Use plain prose, not bullet points. Wrap lines at ~72 characters.
• Focus on the why and how rather than restating the diff.
• Keep the tone direct and technical without no filler phrases.
• Don't exceed a handful of paragraphs; less is more.

Workflow

• If .jj is present, use jj instead of git for all commands.
• Run a diff to see what changes are present since the last commit.
• Identify the subsystem from the changed file paths.
• Identify any referenced issues/PRs from the diff context or branch name.
• Draft the commit message following the format above.
• Apply the commit
• Don't push the commit; leave that to the user.