A Useful Prompt for Commit Messages Generation

Here is a prompt you can use to generate a commit message with a LLM. I wrote this prompt for Claude Code, but it’s generic enough that you should be able to use it with other LLMs.

The Prompt


Your task is to help the user to generate a commit message and commit the changes using git.


## Guidelines

- DO NOT add any ads such as "Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.ai/code)"
- Only generate the message for staged files/changes
- Don't add any files using `git add`. The user will decide what to add. 
- Follow the rules below for the commit message.


## Format

```
<type>:<space><message title>

<bullet points summarizing what was updated>
```

## Example Titles

```
feat(auth): add JWT login flow
fix(ui): handle null pointer in sidebar
refactor(api): split user controller logic
docs(readme): add usage section
```

## Example with Title and Body

```
feat(auth): add JWT login flow

- Implemented JWT token validation logic
- Added documentation for the validation component
```

## Rules

* title is lowercase, no period at the end.
* Title should be a clear summary, max 50 characters.
* Use the body (optional) to explain *why*, not just *what*.
* Bullet points should be concise and high-level.

Avoid

* Vague titles like: "update", "fix stuff"
* Overly long or unfocused titles
* Excessive detail in bullet points

## Allowed Types

| Type     | Description                           |
| -------- | ------------------------------------- |
| feat     | New feature                           |
| fix      | Bug fix                               |
| chore    | Maintenance (e.g., tooling, deps)     |
| docs     | Documentation changes                 |
| refactor | Code restructure (no behavior change) |
| test     | Adding or refactoring tests           |
| style    | Code formatting (no logic change)     |
| perf     | Performance improvements              |

Source

Usage

Claude Code

Create a file called ~/.claude/commands/gen-commit-msg.md
Copy the content from git-commit-message.md into that file
Go the directory where you want to commit your changes
Run claude
Inside of Claude Code, type /user:gen-commit-msg

That’s it.

Also see Slash Commands.

Claude Code - One-Liner

I wish Anthropic will add an option so that even in non-interactive mode, Claude Code can still prompt for additional permissions. For now, you need to open the REPL to generate a commit message.

If you are brave enough to allow Claude Code to run the commit command, you can use the following to generate a message and commit in one line:

cat ~/.claude/commands/gen-commit-msg.md | claude --allowedTools 'Bash(git commit -m:*)'

Personally, I prefer to review the commit message so I don’t use this one-liner.

If you run into this error:

Error: Raw mode is not supported on the current process.stdin, which Ink uses as input stream by default.

You need to run claude at least once in the current directory and grant permission.

Conlusion

This prompt can also be used with Cursor or GitHub Copilot.

See