Conventional Commits
ELI5 — The Vibe Check
Conventional Commits is a format for commit messages: 'feat:', 'fix:', 'chore:', 'docs:'. It looks strict, but it means tools can read your history and auto-generate changelogs, determine version bumps, and filter changes. Your commit messages become machine-readable and human-friendly.
Real Talk
Conventional Commits is a specification for structured commit messages using a type(scope): description format. Types include feat, fix, chore, docs, style, refactor, perf, test. Breaking changes are marked with ! or a BREAKING CHANGE footer. Enables automated versioning and changelog generation.
Show Me The Code
# Format: type(scope): description
feat(auth): add OAuth2 login flow
fix(api): handle null response in user endpoint
chore(deps): update lodash to 4.17.21
docs: update API reference
feat!: drop Node 16 support
When You'll Hear This
"We enforce conventional commits — every PR must have properly formatted messages." / "Semantic release reads conventional commits to determine the version bump."
Related Terms
Changelog
A Changelog is a file (usually CHANGELOG.md) that records what changed in each version of your software.
Commitlint
Commitlint is the grammar police for your commit messages. Try to commit with 'asdf fixed stuff'? Rejected.
Git Hooks
Git Hooks are scripts that Git runs at specific moments — before commit, after push, before merge. They're like event listeners for your version control.
Semantic Release
Semantic Release reads your commit messages and automatically figures out the next version number, generates a changelog, and publishes the release.