khasky/awesome-commit-conventions

This repository is a cheat sheet, not a piece of software, explaining two related practices used by many programming teams: Conventional Commits, a standard way of writing git commit messages, and Semantic Versioning, a standard way of numbering software releases based on the kind of changes made. Its examples are built around the Node.js and JavaScript world, referencing tools like npm, commitlint, and semantic-release, but the underlying ideas apply to any programming language. The guide breaks a commit message down into a short required first line, an optional longer body explaining why a change was made, and an optional footer used for things like closing a linked issue or crediting a co-author. It explains that the official specification only requires two commit types, feat for a new feature and fix for a bug fix, while other common types such as docs, refactor, test, and chore come from a widely followed convention rather than the spec itself. It also shows how these types map onto version numbers: a new feature bumps the middle number, a bug fix bumps the last number, and a breaking change, marked with an exclamation point or a special footer, bumps the first number. Beyond the core rules, the guide covers commonly confused topics such as what counts as a chore versus a refactor, how to choose and stay consistent with commit scopes, a worked example of a realistic twenty commit project history, and a short section correcting popular misconceptions about what the specification does and does not actually require. It closes with setup instructions for commit linting and automated releases using common Node.js tooling, plus a compact one page summary card for quick reference. The whole document is meant to be read once and then used as an ongoing reference rather than a tutorial to work through step by step.