Conventional Commits: A Quick Cheat Sheet

This concise guide helps you quickly draft commit messages that follow the Conventional Commits standard. Use it as a practical tool to streamline your workflow.

Step 1: Choose a Commit Type

Start your message with a type that reflects the nature of your change:

• feat: Add a new feature.
• fix: Fix a bug.
• docs: Update documentation.
• style: Code style changes (formatting, whitespace).
• refactor: Code restructuring without changing functionality.
• perf: Performance improvements.
• test: Add or update tests.
• build: Changes to build scripts or dependencies.
• ci: Updates to CI/CD configurations.
• chore: Other tasks (e.g., updating .gitignore).
• revert: Revert a previous commit.

Example:

fix(auth): fix token validation issue

Step 2: Specify a Scope (Optional)

Scopes clarify the affected area of the project. Examples:

• auth: Authentication and authorization.
• ui: User interface.
• api: Backend or frontend APIs.
• core: Core functionality.
• config: Configuration files.
• deps: Dependency updates.
• tests: Testing.
• docs: Documentation.
• db: Database changes.

Example:

docs(readme): add installation instructions

Step 3: Write a Brief Description

The description should be short and clear. Examples:

• UI: Fix button display on small screens
• API: Add endpoint for file uploads
• Core: Optimize cost calculation logic
• Docs: Update project setup section
• Tests: Add e2e tests for login feature
• Deps: Upgrade dependencies to latest versions
• Build: Configure build to support new plugins

Example:

feat(auth): add support for Google OAuth

Step 4: Add Details (Optional)

Provide additional context if needed:

• What was changed?
• Why was it changed?
• Any additional information?

Example:

fix(ui): fix button display issue

Ensure proper button rendering on low-resolution screens.

Step 5: Indicate BREAKING CHANGES (If Applicable)

For incompatible changes, specify a breaking change:

Example:

feat(api): remove support for legacy data format

BREAKING CHANGE: API no longer supports XML.

Ready-to-Use Examples

• New Feature: feat(auth): add Google authentication support

• Bug Fix: fix(ui): fix button alignment issue

• Docs Update: docs: update API documentation

• Performance: perf(core): reduce application load time

• Breaking Change:

  feat(api): remove support for old endpoints

  BREAKING CHANGE: deprecated endpoints removed.

• Revert:

  revert: revert commit c12345

  Reverts changes that broke login functionality.

Use this cheat sheet to write clear and meaningful commit messages, ensuring a cleaner version history and better collaboration.