Commit Message Format

We have very precise requirements over how Git commit messages must be formatted. Merge requests will not be approved if the commit message does not conform to the required format. This format leads to easier to read commit history and is used to generate the release notes.

Commit message structure

Each commit message consists of a header, a body, and a footer.

<header>
<BLANK LINE>
<body>
<BLANK LINE>
<footer>

The header is mandatory and must conform to the Commit Message Header format.

The body is mandatory for all commits and it must be at least 20 characters long and must conform to the Commit Message Body format.

The footer is optional. The Commit Message Footer format describes what the footer is used for and the structure it must have.

Commit Message Header

<type>(<module>): <short summary>
  │       │             │
  │       │             └─⫸ Summary in present tense. Not capitalized. No period at the end.
  │       │
  │       └─⫸ Commit module: IPP|One-Step-Retro|Tree-Explorer|Cond-Rec|Prod-Rec|Impurity-Pred|
  │                          Regio-Sel-Pred|Aro-C-H-Func|Solubility|Solvent_Screen|Buyables|Drawing|
  │                          Server-Status|Banlist|My-Results|Login|
  │
  └─⫸ Commit Type: build|ci|docs|feature|fix|issue|performance|refactor|test

The <type> and <summary> fields are mandatory, the (<module>) field is optional.

Type

The commit type must be one of the following:

build: Changes that affect the build system or external dependencies (example scopes: vue, fastapi)
ci: Changes to our CI configuration files and scripts
docs: Documentation only changes
feature: A new feature request
fix: A bug fix
issue: A problem has been found in the code but no fix has been provided
performance: A code change that improves performance
refactor: A code change that neither fixes a bug nor adds a feature
test: Adding missing tests or correcting existing tests

Module

The name of the module impacted should be given (as perceived by the person reading the changelog generated from commit messages).

The following is the list of supported modules:

IPP
One-Step-Retro
Tree-Explorer
Cond-Rec
Prod-Rec
Impurity-Pred
Regio-Sel-Pred
Aro-C-H-Func
Solubility
Solvent_Screen
Buyables
Drawing
Server-Status
Banlist
My-Results
Login

Summary

Use the summary field to provide a succinct description of the change:

use the imperative, present tense: "change" not "changed" nor "changes"
don't capitalize the first letter
no dot (.) at the end

Commit Message Body

Just as in the summary, use the imperative, present tense: "fix" not "fixed" nor "fixes".

Explain the motivation for the change in the commit message body. This commit message should explain why you are making the change. Please include a comparison of the previous behavior with the new behavior in order to illustrate the impact of the change.

Commit Message Footer

The footer can contain information about breaking changes and deprecations and is also the place to reference GitLab issues and other MRs that this commit closes or is related to. For example:

BREAKING CHANGE: <breaking change summary>
<BLANK LINE>
<breaking change description + migration instructions>
<BLANK LINE>
<BLANK LINE>
Fixes #<issue number>

DEPRECATED: <what is deprecated>
<BLANK LINE>
<deprecation description + recommended update path>
<BLANK LINE>
<BLANK LINE>
Closes #<pr number>

Breaking Change section should start with the phrase "BREAKING CHANGE: " followed by a summary of the breaking change, a blank line, and a detailed description of the breaking change that also includes migration instructions.

Similarly, a Deprecation section should start with "DEPRECATED: " followed by a short description of what is deprecated, a blank line, and a detailed description of the deprecation that also mentions the recommended update path.

Commit Message Format ​

Commit message structure ​

Commit Message Header ​

Type ​

Module ​

Summary ​

Commit Message Body ​

Commit Message Footer ​