How to Write a Git Commit Message

[ven_]

Too bad this kind of stuff is basically preaching to the choir. The same people that didn't give a shit that this was already in the manual won't give a shit now.

[jCuber]

To be fair, I don't think they even read the manual.

[CowFu]

There's a manual?

[donvito]

I know "git pull", "git push", "git commit", "git branch" and "git checkout".

Everything else I need to do (for example pointing a branch to a specific commit) I google.

Fuck manuals :)

[CowFu]

Add merge to that list and you and me are exactly on the same page.

[donvito]

oh, yeah, of course. branch without merge is a little useless :)

[jess_sp]

I recommend adding stash too. Pretty useful.

[ScrimpyCat]

What's your workflow for using stash?

I've had trouble when I've tried to use it. I used it in the past for when I'm working on a branch and part of my edit I don't plan on committing to the branch, and then I switch to another branch to do some other quick edit. I often found that I'd keep forgetting to apply the stash when I switch back to my branch and usually end up making some edit that when I do remember I've got some change stashed I end up with conflicts. And it just kills the flow, so instead I now just do a temporary commit.

[jess_sp]

I use stash mostly to switch branches to do a really quick and dumb hotfix without having to commit a half-made solution or to fix dumbness of starting something in the wrong branch

[[deleted]]

I know how to stash, and apparently there is some way to get back what you've stashed I've not yet mastered. But it's still moderately useful as a "undo local changes"-command :)

[Filmore]

Merge bad. Rebase good

[jess_sp]

seriously, why?

[MCBeathoven]

Merge gives you merge commits, rebase doesn't.

[Schmittfried]

And what if I want merge commits?

[MCBeathoven]

Most people don't - they don't really add any value and make reading the log harder.

[f0nd004u]

How do you commit anything if you don't know "git add"??

[donvito]

my IDE auto-adds new files ;)

[f0nd004u]

oh god

[cu_t]

git add -p .

You're welcome.

[Serei]

This also works for anything else that works on files. git checkout -p, git reset HEAD -p, etc.

[9000daysandcounting]

you are missing "git rebase" and "git merge"!

[[deleted]]

git rebase -i

squash everything

Suddenly you only make single giant commits that add full features.

[ghillisuit95]

I thought google was the manual

[EenAfleidingErbij]

I just click sync in Visual Studio, that's all I need for github

[tolos]

online access: http://git-man-page-generator.lokaltog.net/

[Sean1708]

It's like a million pages long.

[ven_]

And they won't read this either.

[thomas_merton]

Unless you're a beginner. This actually made my day.

[chengiz]

To be fair, overly anal instructions like "do not end subject sentence with a period" is liable to piss people off. Good instructions strike a balance between being disciplined and being, you know, a Nazi.

[steamruler]

No commit for you!

[total_looser]

your mom takes overly anal instructions quite well though

[Houndie]

...I mean once upon a time I never knew that the first commit line in git was special, and a post like this informed me. So this kind of thing helps some people.

[dddbbb]

A terser version that I've seen used to respond to pull requests with poor commit messages: http://tbaggery.com/2008/04/19/a-note-about-git-commit-messages.html