Git Commit Standards
Commits tell the story of your codebase. A good commit history is worth more than any amount of documentation — because it's always up to date.
1. Conventional Commits Format
<type>(<scope>): <description>
[optional body]
[optional footer(s)]Types:
| Type | When |
|---|---|
feat | New feature (correlates with MINOR in semver) |
fix | Bug fix (correlates with PATCH in semver) |
refactor | Code change that neither fixes a bug nor adds a feature |
perf | Performance improvement |
test | Adding or correcting tests |
docs | Documentation changes only |
chore | Build process, tooling, dependencies |
ci | CI/CD configuration changes |
style | Formatting, whitespace (not CSS — code formatting) |
Scope:
Use the package name or module area:
feat(auth): add JWT refresh token rotation
fix(store/postgres): handle connection pool exhaustion
refactor(service): extract validation into dedicated package
test(handler): add table-driven tests for user endpoints
chore(deps): bump go.uber.org/zap to v1.27.0Breaking changes:
feat(api)!: change pagination from offset to cursor-based
BREAKING CHANGE: The `offset` and `limit` query parameters are replaced
by `cursor` and `page_size`. All existing clients must migrate.2. Commit Message Rules
Subject line:
- Imperative mood: "add feature", NOT "added feature" or "adds feature"
- Lowercase after type prefix
- No period at the end
- Max 72 characters
- Must describe WHAT changed, not HOW
Body (when needed):
- Blank line between subject and body
- Explain WHY the change was necessary
- Explain WHAT is different at a high level
- Wrap at 72 characters
Footer:
- Reference issues:
Fixes #123,Closes #456,Refs #789 - Co-authors:
Co-authored-by: Name <email> - Breaking changes:
BREAKING CHANGE: description
3. Examples
Simple change:
fix(handler): return 404 instead of 500 for missing userWith body:
refactor(service): replace manual SQL with sqlx named queries
The raw SQL string concatenation for dynamic WHERE clauses was
error-prone and difficult to maintain. sqlx named queries provide
the same flexibility with automatic parameter binding.
No behavior change — all existing tests pass.Breaking change:
feat(config)!: migrate from YAML to environment variables
BREAKING CHANGE: Configuration is now loaded from environment
variables instead of config.yaml. See README.md for the full
list of supported variables.
Closes #234Dependency update:
chore(deps): upgrade pgx to v5.5.0
Picks up connection pool improvements and fixes for
COPY protocol handling. See release notes:
https://github.com/jackc/pgx/releases/tag/v5.5.04. Atomic Commits
Each commit should be ONE logical change that:
- Compiles on its own (
go build./...passes) - Tests pass (
go test./...passes) - Can be reverted independently without breaking other changes
Split large changes:
# ❌ Bad — one commit doing everything
feat(user): add user management with CRUD, validation, auth, and tests
# ✅ Good — atomic, reviewable commits
feat(domain): add User entity and validation rules
feat(store): implement PostgreSQL user repository
feat(service): add user service with create and get operations
feat(handler): add REST endpoints for user management
test(service): add table-driven tests for user creation
docs(api): document user endpoints in OpenAPI spec5. Pre-Commit Verification
Before committing, run:
# Format and lint
goimports -w .
golangci-lint run
# Build
go build ./...
# Test
go test -race ./...
# Tidy modules
go mod tidyIf any step fails, fix before committing. Never commit broken code with "will fix later" — you won't.
6. Commit Workflow
# Stage specific files (not git add .)
git add internal/service/user.go
git add internal/service/user_test.go
# Review staged changes
git diff --staged
# Commit with message
git commit -m "feat(service): add user creation with email validation"
# Or use editor for longer messages
git commit # opens $EDITORInteractive rebase before PR:
# Clean up commit history before opening PR
git rebase -i main
# Squash fixup commits
# Reword unclear messages
# Reorder for logical flow7. What NOT to Commit
- Generated files (
*.pb.gounless required,mocks/) - IDE configuration (
.idea/,.vscode/— use global gitignore) - OS files (
.DS_Store,Thumbs.db) - Binaries and build artifacts
.envfiles with secretsvendor/(unless explicitly required by project policy)