Generating Commit Messages

Description

The git-commit skill leverages various AI providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, Ollama, Groq, OpenRouter) to automatically generate meaningful commit messages that follow the Conventional Commits specification.

Installation

Run the install script to automatically download and set up the latest release:

bash < <(curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/appleboy/CodeGPT/main/install.sh)

Usage

Basic Usage

Generate a commit message for staged changes (Skip confirmation prompts):

codegpt commit --no_confirm

Common Options

# Preview commit message before committing
codegpt commit --preview

# Skip confirmation prompts
codegpt commit --no_confirm

# Set output language (en, zh-tw, zh-cn)
codegpt commit --lang zh-tw

# Use specific AI model
codegpt commit --model gpt-4o

# Amend previous commit
codegpt commit --amend

# Display prompt only (no API call)
codegpt commit --prompt_only

# Write to specific output file
codegpt commit --file /path/to/commit-msg

# Customize diff context lines
codegpt commit --diff_unified 5

# Exclude specific files from diff
codegpt commit --exclude_list "*.lock,*.json"

# Use custom template file
codegpt commit --template_file ./my-template.tmpl

# Use inline template string
codegpt commit --template_string "{{.summarize_prefix}}: {{.summarize_title}}"

# Set API timeout
codegpt commit --timeout 60s

# Configure network proxy
codegpt commit --proxy http://proxy.example.com:8080
codegpt commit --socks socks5://127.0.0.1:1080

Template Variables

When using custom templates, the following variables are available:

• {{.summarize_prefix}} - Conventional commit prefix (feat, fix, docs, etc.)
• {{.summarize_title}} - Brief commit title
• {{.summarize_message}} - Detailed commit message body

You can also provide custom variables:

codegpt commit --template_vars "author=John,ticket=PROJ-123"
codegpt commit --template_vars_file ./vars.env

Workflow

1. Diff Analysis: Analyzes staged changes using git diff
2. Summarization: AI generates a summary of the changes
3. Title Generation: Creates a concise commit title
4. Prefix Detection: Determines appropriate conventional commit prefix
5. Message Composition: Combines all elements into a formatted message
6. Translation (optional): Translates to target language if specified
7. Preview & Confirmation: Shows message for review and optional editing
8. Commit: Records changes to the repository

Configuration

Configure via ~/.config/codegpt/.codegpt.yaml:

openai:
  provider: openai  # or: azure, anthropic, gemini, ollama, groq, openrouter
  api_key: your_api_key_here
  model: gpt-4o
  timeout: 30s

git:
  diff_unified: 3
  exclude_list: []
  template_file: ""
  template_string: ""

output:
  lang: en  # or: zh-tw, zh-cn
  file: ""

Examples

Example 1: Basic commit without preview

# Stage your changes
git add .

# Generate commit message without confirmation
codegpt commit --no_confirm

Example 2: Chinese commit message

codegpt commit --lang zh-tw --model gpt-4o --no_confirm

Example 3: Custom template

codegpt commit \
  --template_string "[{{.summarize_prefix}}] {{.summarize_title}}" \
  --template_vars "ticket=PROJ-123"

Example 4: With file exclusions

codegpt commit \
  --exclude_list "package-lock.json,yarn.lock,go.sum" \
  --preview

Tips

1. Stage Changes First: Always run git add before using codegpt commit
2. Use Preview Mode: Review messages with --preview before committing
3. Customize Templates: Create templates that match your team's commit style
4. Set Default Language: Configure your preferred language in config file
5. Exclude Generated Files: Use --exclude_list to ignore lock files and generated code