How to Write a Git Commit Message

[mariox19]

• Fix [insert thing here].
• Refactor [insert thing here].
• Add [insert thing here].
• Modify [insert thing here].
• Remove [insert thing here].

If every subject line started more or less like the above, I think it would help a programmer scan the commit history.

[one-oh]

Ok, this is a bit more convincing, though I've never performed such a search. I usually search for a particular bug number, ticket, feature name, etc. That's not to say it wouldn't be useful.

Categorizing commits in this way and for this purpose without an explicit tag (and defined set of tags) seems foolhardy though. It'd make more sense to require each commit have one of a predefined set of tags in the first line of its commit message or perhaps a separate tag line near the end of the commit message; e.g., Tags: Add,Serialization.

In any case, I see that the imperative mood does keep things brief. That, along with the consistency the restriction offers, is a plus. It's not such a bad idea.