Commit Messages

Follow these conventions when creating commits.

Prerequisites

Before committing, ensure you're working on a feature branch, not the master branch.

# Check current branch
git branch --show-current

If you're on master, create a new branch first:

# Create and switch to a new branch
git checkout -b <type>/<brief-description>

Branch Naming

Branch names follow the pattern:

{type}/{brief-description}

For work tied to a feature epic, include the feature ID:

{type}/{feature-id}-{brief-description}

Examples:

• feat/add-user-auth - Adding authentication
• feat/FT050-workflow-automation - Feature epic work
• fix/resolve-link-validation - Bug fix
• docs/workflow-guide - Documentation
• chore/update-ruby-version - Dependencies

Commit Format

<type>: <summary>

<body>

<footer>

The summary is required. Body and footer are optional but helpful when context is needed.

Commit Types

Type	Purpose
feat	New feature
fix	Bug fix
docs	Documentation only
style	Code formatting (no logic change)
refactor	Code restructuring (no behavior change)
test	Adding or modifying tests
chore	Build tools, dependencies, configs

Summary Rules

• Under 50 characters - Get to the point
• Imperative mood - "Add feature" not "Added feature"
• Capitalize first word - "Add feature" not "add feature"
• No period at end - Save the character

Body Guidelines

Use the body to explain why, not how. The code shows how; the commit explains why.

• Use imperative mood and present tense
• Wrap lines at 72 characters
• Include motivation for the change
• Contrast with previous behavior when relevant

Examples

Simple change (no body needed)

docs: fix typo in workflow guide

Feature with context

feat: add link archival endpoint

Implement POST /api/v1/links/:id/archive endpoint to allow
marking links as archived without deletion. Includes validation
and database migration.

Bug fix

fix: resolve popup not opening on Firefox

The popup.html failed to load on Firefox due to CSP issues.
Updated manifest.json with proper permissions.

Dependency update

chore: update Docker base image to Ruby 3.4.2

Bump base image for security patches and performance improvements.

Refactor

refactor: extract link validation to service

Move duplicate validation code from three endpoints into a shared
validator class. No behavior change.

Test addition

test: add archival endpoint tests

Commit Frequency

Commit after completing logical chunks of work. Each commit should be a checkpoint—a coherent piece of work that makes sense on its own.

git commit -m "feat: add archival endpoint skeleton"
git commit -m "feat: add archival validation logic"
git commit -m "test: add archival endpoint tests"
git commit -m "docs: document archival API endpoint"

Small, focused commits are easier to review and easier to revert if needed.

Squash Merge Note

We use squash merges for all PRs. Your individual commits get combined into a single, clean commit when merged to master. This means:

• Don't stress over "fix typo" commits during development
• The final squash commit message gets polished at merge time
• Master history shows one commit per PR

Issue References

If your project uses issue tracking (GitHub Issues, Jira, Linear, etc.), reference issue IDs in PR titles or branch names, not commit messages. This enables automatic linking and status updates.

Branch: feat/GH-128-add-user-auth PR title: feat: add user authentication #128

Principles

• Each commit should be a single, coherent change
• Commits should be independently understandable
• Focus on why the change was made, not what changed

References

• Conventional Commits
• How to Write a Git Commit Message