Sentry Commit Messages
Follow these conventions when creating commits for Sentry projects.
Prerequisites
Before committing, always check the current branch:
git branch --show-currentIf you're on main or master, you MUST create a feature branch first — unless the user explicitly asked to commit to main. Do not ask the user whether to create a branch; just proceed with branch creation, then re-check the current branch before committing. If still on main or master, stop — do not commit.
Format
<type>(<scope>): <subject>
<body>
<footer>The header is required. Scope is optional. All lines must stay under 100 characters.
Commit Types
| Type | Purpose |
|---|---|
feat | New feature |
fix | Bug fix |
ref | Refactoring (no behavior change) |
perf | Performance improvement |
docs | Documentation only |
test | Test additions or corrections |
build | Build system or dependencies |
ci | CI configuration |
chore | Maintenance tasks |
style | Code formatting (no logic change) |
meta | Repository metadata |
license | License changes |
Subject Line Rules
- Use imperative, present tense: "Add feature" not "Added feature"
- Capitalize the first letter
- No period at the end
- Maximum 70 characters
Body Guidelines
- Explain what and why, not how
- Use imperative mood and present tense
- Include motivation for the change
- Contrast with previous behavior when relevant
- Use real newlines in commit bodies; never include literal
\nsequences - Never include customer data — customer/org names, user emails, support ticket contents, or PII. Describe the technical symptom, not who hit it, and if available, reference the internal ticket (e.g.
Fixes SENTRY-1234).
Commit Command Hygiene
When creating commits from the CLI, do not embed escaped newlines like \n inside -m strings. That produces literal backslash characters in the final commit message.
Prefer one of these patterns:
git commit -m "type(scope): Subject" \
-m "First paragraph with real line wrapping.
Second paragraph.
Fixes GH-1234
Co-Authored-By: (the agent's name and attribution byline)"git commitUse the editor flow when the message needs careful formatting.
Footer: Issue References
Reference issues in the footer using these patterns:
Fixes GH-1234
Fixes #1234
Fixes SENTRY-1234
Refs LINEAR-ABC-123Fixescloses the issue when mergedRefslinks without closing
AI-Generated Changes
When changes were primarily generated by a coding agent, include the Co-Authored-By attribution in the commit footer. Agents should use their own identity:
Co-Authored-By: (the agent's name and attribution byline)Example: Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4 <noreply@example.com>
This is the only indicator of AI involvement that should appear in commits. Do not add phrases like "Generated by AI", "Written with Claude", or similar markers in the subject, body, or anywhere else in the commit message.
Examples
Simple fix
fix(api): Handle null response in user endpoint
The user API could return null for deleted accounts, causing a crash
in the dashboard. Add null check before accessing user properties.
Fixes SENTRY-5678
Co-Authored-By: (the agent's name and attribution byline)Feature with scope
feat(alerts): Add Slack thread replies for alert updates
When an alert is updated or resolved, post a reply to the original
Slack thread instead of creating a new message. This keeps related
notifications grouped together.
Refs GH-1234Refactor
ref: Extract common validation logic to shared module
Move duplicate validation code from three endpoints into a shared
validator class. No behavior change.Breaking change
feat(api)!: Remove deprecated v1 endpoints
Remove all v1 API endpoints that were deprecated in version 23.1.
Clients should migrate to v2 endpoints.
BREAKING CHANGE: v1 endpoints no longer available
Fixes SENTRY-9999Revert Format
revert: feat(api): Add new endpoint
This reverts commit abc123def456.
Reason: Caused performance regression in production.Principles
- Each commit should be a single, stable change
- Commits should be independently reviewable
- The repository should be in a working state after each commit