Git Commit Best Practices Professional Development Workflow
Master the art of writing clear, meaningful commit messages and maintaining a clean Git history for better collaboration and project management.
Commit Message Guidelines
Write clear, meaningful commit messages
The 7 Rules of Great Commit Messages
A well-written commit message is crucial for maintaining a clean project history and enabling effective collaboration. Follow these proven guidelines to write professional commit messages.
Separate subject from body with a blank line
This helps with readability and allows tools to parse the commit properly.
Limit the subject line to 50 characters
Keep it concise and to the point. This ensures it displays well in various Git tools.
Capitalize the subject line
Use proper capitalization for consistency and professionalism.
Do not end the subject line with a period
Keep it clean and consistent with other commit messages.
Use the imperative mood in the subject line
Write as if giving a command: "Add feature" not "Added feature" or "Adds feature".
Wrap the body at 72 characters
This ensures readability in various terminal and email clients.
Use the body to explain what and why vs. how
Focus on the reasoning behind the change, not the implementation details.
Good Commit Message Example
feat: add user authentication system
Implement JWT-based authentication with login/logout
functionality. This resolves the security requirements
for user management and enables role-based access control.
- Add JWT token generation and validation
- Create login/logout API endpoints
- Implement password hashing with bcrypt
- Add middleware for protected routes
Closes #123Conventional Commits
Standardized commit message format
Commit Types
Examples
feat(auth): add OAuth2 integration
fix(api): resolve memory leak in user service
docs(readme): update installation instructions
style(components): format code with prettier
refactor(utils): extract common validation logic
test(auth): add unit tests for login flow
chore(deps): update dependencies to latest versions
Tools & Extensions
Git Workflow Best Practices
Professional development workflow
Branch Naming
Use descriptive branch names that indicate the purpose and scope of changes.
feature/user-authentication
fix/payment-gateway-error
hotfix/security-patch
chore/update-dependencies
Branch Strategy
Follow a consistent branching model like Git Flow or GitHub Flow for better organization.
main/master
develop
feature/*
hotfix/*
Commit Frequency
Make small, frequent commits that represent logical units of work. Avoid large, monolithic commits.
One logical change per commit
Commit early and often
Test before committing
Review before pushing
Pull Request Process
Use pull requests for code review, discussion, and maintaining code quality standards.
Clear PR description
Link related issues
Request specific reviewers
Pass all CI checks
History Management
Keep a clean, linear history when possible. Use rebase for feature branches before merging.
git rebase -i
git squash
git amend
git reset
Security & Safety
Never commit sensitive information. Use .gitignore and environment variables for secrets.
Never commit passwords
Use .gitignore
Environment variables
Pre-commit hooks
Essential Git Tools
Tools to enhance your Git workflow
Command Line
Master essential Git commands for efficient version control
GUI Tools
Use visual tools like SourceTree, GitKraken, or VS Code Git integration
Hooks & Automation
Implement pre-commit hooks and automated checks for code quality
Quick Reference
git add .
Stage all changes
git commit -m "message"
Commit with message
git push origin branch
Push to remote
git pull origin main
Pull latest changes
git log --oneline
View commit history
git status
Check repository status
git branch
List branches
git checkout -b feature
Create new branch