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COMMIT_GUIDELINES.md

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We follow conventional commits as defined here. We (and most major projects) will not merge your PR unless your commit history aligns to these guidelines.

This document explains how to clean up your commit history, squash commits into a single commit if needed, and ensure you adhere to our conventional commit style. We use the following standard prefixes:

  • feat
  • fix
  • test
  • docs
  • refactor
  • perf

Example of a Messy Commit History

Consider a history like this:

9ec71a4 partial fix for issue #22 
4a8d2b6 correct typo in logging 
a19b75c Merge branch 'main' into feature-branch 
3b22d10 update docs again

We want to transform these into a single clean commit or a small number of commits with proper messages. At the end, we want only this:

9ec71a4 fix: partial fix for issue #22

Step-by-Step: Squashing and Cleaning Up Commits

  1. Update your local branch
git checkout feature-branch 
git fetch origin 
git rebase origin/main
  1. Start interactive rebase
    Identify how many commits need adjusting (in this example, 4). Then run:
git rebase -i HEAD~4

A text editor opens with a list of commits.

  1. Choose your actions
    In the editor, specify one commit as pick (the first commit you want to keep) and mark the others as squash or fixup:
pick 9ec71a4 partial fix for issue #22 
squash 4a8d2b6 correct typo in logging 
squash a19b75c Merge branch 'main' into feature-branch 
squash 3b22d10 update docs again
  • pick: Keep the commit as is.
  • squash: Combine this commit with the previous commit and let you edit the commit message.
  • fixup: Combine this commit with the previous commit but use the previous commit’s message.
  1. Reword the commit
    After saving the rebase file, a new editor window will appear if you used squash. Enter a new commit message that follows our style:
feat: add documentation and fix logging

(Detailed description about what was changed and why.)

  1. Resolve Conflicts if Needed
    If there are merge conflicts, edit the files to fix them, then do:
git add <file1> <file2> ... git rebase --continue
  1. Force push your changes
    After the rebase completes:
git push -f origin feature-branch

Note: This overwrites the remote history for your branch, so be cautious when others are working on the same branch.

Final Commit Message Examples

Here are some acceptable final commit messages:

  • feat: implement new user login
  • fix: resolve null pointer exception
  • test: add tests for new user login
  • docs: update README with usage instructions
  • refactor: simplify database query logic
  • perf: improve caching mechanism for faster responses

Always keep your commit message clear and concise. You should add an exclamation mark ! after the type if it’s a breaking change, for example:

feat!: remove deprecated authentication method

By following these steps, you’ll ensure that your commit history is clean, meaningful, and easy to review.

This is a highly simplified guide to clean commits. The full docs for this can be found in our contributing guidelines here.