Engineering Craft › Version Control (Git)

Conventional Commits

A commit message convention like "feat:" and "fix:" that tools can parse.

Also known as: conventional commit, semantic commits, commit types

Conventional Commits is a lightweight convention for commit messages, so that both people and tools can read them. The format:

<type>(<optional scope>): <short summary>

<optional body>

<optional footer>

feat(auth): add passwordless login
fix(cart): prevent negative quantities
docs: explain local setup
refactor(api): split orders router
feat!: drop support for v1 tokens

BREAKING CHANGE: v1 tokens are no longer accepted.

Common types

A ! after the type, or a BREAKING CHANGE: footer, marks an incompatible change.

Why teams use it

• Scannable history: you can see what kind of change each commit is.
• Automation. Tools generate changelogs and decide the next version number from commits: fix means a patch, feat a minor release, and a breaking change a major one (semantic versioning).
• Consistency across a team.
• It encourages small, focused commits (atomic commits).

Tips

• Write the summary in the imperative mood and keep it short (commit messages).
• Add a scope only if it helps (the module or package).
• Enforce it with a commit-msg hook or a CI check if automation depends on it.
• It’s a convention, not a rule of Git. If your team doesn’t release from commit messages, a plain, clear message is just as good.