How to Set a Default Commit Message
Having a default commit message is really useful for a number of reasons:
- It can formalize your commit messages
- It serves as a good reminder for the information you should add to your commit message, like issue number
- If you set it to "Drunk AF, don't accept this"
To set a default commit message on your local machine, start by executing the following from command line:
git config --global commit.template ~/.gitmessage
This tells your local git config to pull the text from ~/.gitmessage as the default commit message. You could set the text to something like:
Fix Issue #{number}: {description}
R+: {reviewer}
Of course, if you set your commit message via git commit -m {description}, the default will not be used, so it's a win-win!
![Page Visibility API]()
One event that's always been lacking within the document is a signal for when the user is looking at a given tab, or another tab. When does the user switch off our site to look at something else? When do they come back?
![9 Mind-Blowing Canvas Demos]()
The <canvas> element has been a revelation for the visual experts among our ranks. Canvas provides the means for incredible and efficient animations with the added bonus of no Flash; these developers can flash their awesome JavaScript skills instead. Here are nine unbelievable canvas demos that...
![Use Elements as Background Images with -moz-element]()
We all know that each browser vendor takes the liberty of implementing their own CSS and JavaScript features, and I'm thankful for that. Mozilla and WebKit have come out with some interesting proprietary CSS properties, and since we all know that cementing standards...
![MooTools Equal Heights Plugin: Equalizer]()
Keeping equal heights between elements within the same container can be hugely important for the sake of a pretty page. Unfortunately sometimes keeping columns the same height can't be done with CSS -- you need a little help from your JavaScript friends. Well...now you're...
What if you want to include some of the lines from the default commit message in your template? One thing that is not indicated here is that the content of the default message is included with your template content (combined) when the actual commit template is displayed in the editor.
See: commit.template section in https://git-scm.com/book/en/v2/Customizing-Git-Git-Configuration
Or test it yourself..
BUT! What if you need to change the order that the default commit message lines appear in your templated commit message? For example..
The default git commit message (as of this date) is:
=======================================================================
# Please enter the commit message for your changes. Lines starting
# with ‘#’ will be ignored, and an empty message aborts the commit.
#
# On branch master
#
# Initial commit
#
# Changes to be committed:
# new file: blah
#
# ———————— >8 ————————
# Do not modify or remove the line above.
# Everything below it will be ignored.
diff –git a/blah b/blah
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
=======================================================================
But what if you need it to be:
=======================================================================
Changes to be committed: new file: blah
On branch master
Initial commit
# ———————— >8 ————————
# Do not modify or remove the line above.
# Everything below it will be ignored.
diff –git a/blah b/blah
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
=======================================================================
Where “Initial commit” is included / omitted (as it normally is) based on whether it is the initial commit or not. In other words, you want to reformat the default commit message’ content so that when it is combined with your template it will read in the order and format that you want it.
Is there a way to do this?