A commit message is a letter to your future self. Write it like she matters. Because she does, and she will read it at 2 AM trying to understand why you changed the authentication flow.

"fixed stuff" is not a commit message. It is a cry for help. Your future self deserves better. Your teammates deserve better. The ghost of your codebase deserves better.

Write commit messages that explain the why, not just the what. The diff shows the what. Only you can explain the why.

feat: A new capability enters the world. fix: A wound is healed. refactor: The bones are rearranged. chore: The unglamorous work that holds everything together.

These prefixes are not bureaucracy. They are taxonomy. They are how you organize the story of your project’s evolution.

Your commit history is a trail through the forest. Each message is a breadcrumb that helps the next traveler find their way. Make the breadcrumbs clear. Make them honest. Make them something you would be grateful to find.

— JP, from the void.