Avoid Conventional Commits

Avoid Conventional Commits

Describe what changed and why in the commit subject instead of prefixing it with feat:, fix: or chore:, which add noise the diff already shows.

Do not use Conventional Commits format for commit messages. Avoid prefixes like feat:, fix:, chore:, docs:, refactor:, etc.

Why?

• Redundant information: The type of change is already visible in the diff
• Noise over signal: Prefixes add visual clutter without adding meaning
• False categorization: Many changes don't fit neatly into categories, leading to arbitrary choices
• Tooling dependency: Assumes automated changelog generation, which often produces low-quality output
• Verbosity: Takes space away from describing what actually changed

Instead

Write commit messages that describe what changed and why:

# Bad
feat: add user authentication
fix: resolve login button issue
chore: update dependencies

# Good
Add user authentication with OAuth2
Fix login button not responding on iOS
Update dependencies to patch security vulnerabilities

Focus on clear, action-oriented messages that tell the story of the change.