Commit Message Format

This specification is inspired by and supersedes the AngularJS commit message format.

We have very precise rules over how our Git commit messages must be formatted. This format leads to easier to read commit history.

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

Commit Message Header

<type>(<scope>): <short summary>
  │       │             │
  │       │             └─⫸ Summary in present tense. Not capitalized. No period at the end.
  │       │
  │       └─⫸ Commit Scope: animations|bazel|benchpress|common|compiler|compiler-cli|core|
  │                          elements|forms|http|language-service|localize|platform-browser|
  │                          platform-browser-dynamic|platform-server|router|service-worker|
  │                          upgrade|zone.js|packaging|changelog|docs-infra|migrations|
  │                          devtools
  │
  └─⫸ Commit Type: build|ci|docs|feat|fix|perf|refactor|test

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

Type

Must be one of the following:

• build: Changes that affect the build system or external dependencies (example scopes: gulp, broccoli, npm)

• ci : Changes to our CI configuration files and scripts (examples: CircleCi, SauceLabs)

• docs : Documentation only changes

• feat : A new feature

• fix : A bug fix

• perf : 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

Scope

The scope should be the name of the npm package affected (as perceived by the person reading the changelog generated from commit messages).The following is the list of supported scopes:

• animations

• bazel

• benchpress

• common

• compiler

• compiler-cli

• core

• elements

• forms

• http

• language-service

• localize

• platform-browser

• platform-browser-dynamic

• platform-server

• router

• service-worker

• upgrade

• zone.js

There are currently a few exceptions to the "use package name" rule:

• packaging: used for changes that change the npm package layout in all of our packages, e.g. public path changes, package.json changes done to all packages, d.ts file/format changes, changes to bundles, etc.

• changelog: used for updating the release notes in CHANGELOG.md

• dev-infra: used for dev-infra related changes within the directories /scripts and /tools

• docs-infra: used for docs-app (angular.io) related changes within the /aio directory of the repo

• migrations: used for changes to the ng update migrations.

• devtools: used for changes in the browser extension.

• none/empty string: useful for test and refactor changes that are done across all packages (e.g. test: add missing unit tests) and for docs changes that are not related to a specific package (e.g. docs: fix typo in tutorial).

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. You can 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 GitHub issues, Jira tickets, and other PRs 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>

or

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.

Revert commits

If the commit reverts a previous commit, it should begin with revert: , followed by the header of the reverted commit.

The content of the commit message body should contain:

• information about the SHA of the commit being reverted in the following format: This reverts commit ,
• a clear description of the reason for reverting the commit message.