Generating Commit Messages

Step-by-Step Instructions

Installation

1. Run the install script to download and set up CodeGPT:

   bash < <(curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/appleboy/CodeGPT/main/install.sh)

2. Configure your AI provider in ~/.config/codegpt/.codegpt.yaml:

   openai:
     provider: openai # or: azure, anthropic, gemini, ollama, groq, openrouter
     api_key: your_api_key_here
     model: gpt-4o

Basic Usage

1. Stage your changes:

   git add <files>

2. Generate and commit with AI-generated message:

   codegpt commit --no_confirm

   Note:

   • Commit messages are generated in English by default. Use --lang to specify a different language.
   • You don't need to manually run git diff to review your changes. CodeGPT automatically reads the staged changes and analyzes them to generate an appropriate commit message.

Advanced Options

• Set language: Use --lang to specify output language (default: en)

  codegpt commit --lang zh-tw --no_confirm  # For Traditional Chinese
  codegpt commit --lang zh-cn --no_confirm  # For Simplified Chinese

  To change the default language permanently:

  codegpt config set output.lang en  # or zh-tw, zh-cn

• Use specific model: Override the default model

  codegpt commit --model gpt-4o --no_confirm

• Exclude files: Ignore certain files from the diff analysis

  codegpt commit --exclude_list "*.lock,*.json" --no_confirm

• Custom templates: Format messages according to your team's style, including Jira issue tracking

  # Basic custom format
  codegpt commit --template_string "[{{.summarize_prefix}}] {{.summarize_title}}" --no_confirm
  
  # With Jira issue number using template variables
  codegpt commit --template_vars "JIRA_NUM=GAIA-2704" \
    --template_string "{{.summarize_prefix}}{{if .JIRA_NUM}}({{.JIRA_NUM}}){{end}}: {{.summarize_title}}\n\n{{.summarize_message}}" \
    --no_confirm

  Available built-in template variables:

  • {{.summarize_prefix}} - Conventional commit type (feat, fix, docs, etc.)
  • {{.summarize_title}} - The commit title
  • {{.summarize_message}} - The full commit message body

  You can define custom variables with --template_vars "KEY=VALUE" and use them as {{.KEY}}

• Amend commit: Update the previous commit message

  codegpt commit --amend --no_confirm

Examples of Inputs and Outputs

Example 1: Adding a new feature

Input:

# After making changes to add user authentication
git add src/auth.go src/middleware.go
codegpt commit --no_confirm

Output:

feat: add user authentication middleware

Implement JWT-based authentication system with login and token validation
middleware for protecting API endpoints.

Example 2: Fixing a bug

Input:

# After fixing a null pointer error
git add src/handlers/user.go
codegpt commit --no_confirm

Output:

fix: resolve null pointer exception in user handler

Add nil checks before accessing user object properties to prevent crashes
when processing requests with missing user data.

[Preview shown, waiting for confirmation...]

Example 3: Chinese language commit

Input:

git add docs/README.md
codegpt commit --lang zh-tw --no_confirm

Output:

docs: 更新專案說明文件

新增安裝步驟說明以及使用範例，讓新使用者能夠快速上手。

Example 4: Jira issue tracking integration

Input:

# Stage your changes
git add Dockerfile docker-compose.yml

# Generate commit with Jira issue number using template variables
codegpt commit --template_vars "JIRA_NUM=GAIA-2704" \
  --template_string "{{.summarize_prefix}}{{if .JIRA_NUM}}({{.JIRA_NUM}}){{end}}: {{.summarize_title}}

{{.summarize_message}}" \
  --no_confirm

Output:

feat(GAIA-2704): update trivy scan for cicd

- Add appuser (uid=1000) to run containers as non-root user
- Fix trivy scan DS002: Image user should not be 'root'
- Create /.app directory with proper ownership for externalimage

Tip: Save the template in config file to avoid typing it every time:

# Set the template once
codegpt config set git.template_string "{{.summarize_prefix}}{{if .JIRA_NUM}}({{.JIRA_NUM}}){{end}}: {{.summarize_title}}

{{.summarize_message}}"

# Then just provide the Jira number when committing
codegpt commit --template_vars "JIRA_NUM=GAIA-2704" --no_confirm

Example 5: Excluding lock files

Input:

git add .
codegpt commit --exclude_list "package-lock.json,yarn.lock,go.sum" --no_confirm

Output:

refactor: reorganize project structure

Move utility functions into separate packages and update import paths
throughout the codebase for better modularity.

(Lock files excluded from analysis)

Common Edge Cases

No staged changes

Issue: Running codegpt commit without staging any changes.

Solution: Stage your changes first:

git add <files>
codegpt commit

API timeout for large diffs

Issue: Large changesets may cause API timeouts.

Solution: Increase timeout or commit changes in smaller batches:

codegpt commit --timeout 60s --no_confirm

Generated files in diff

Issue: Lock files or generated code affecting commit message quality.

Solution: Exclude these files from analysis:

codegpt commit --exclude_list "package-lock.json,yarn.lock,*.min.js,dist/*" --no_confirm

API key not configured

Issue: Error message about missing API key.

Solution: Set up your API key in the config file:

codegpt config set openai.api_key "your-api-key-here"

Custom commit format required

Issue: Team requires specific commit message format with Jira issue tracking numbers.

Solution: Use --template_vars with custom templates.

Basic usage:

codegpt commit --template_vars "JIRA_NUM=GAIA-2704" \
  --template_string "{{.summarize_prefix}}{{if .JIRA_NUM}}({{.JIRA_NUM}}){{end}}: {{.summarize_title}}

{{.summarize_message}}" \
  --no_confirm

# Result: feat(GAIA-2704): update trivy scan for cicd

Save template in config for convenience:

# Set the template once
codegpt config set git.template_string "{{.summarize_prefix}}{{if .JIRA_NUM}}({{.JIRA_NUM}}){{end}}: {{.summarize_title}}

{{.summarize_message}}"

# Then just provide the Jira number
codegpt commit --template_vars "JIRA_NUM=GAIA-2704" --no_confirm

Or edit ~/.config/codegpt/.codegpt.yaml:

git:
  template_string: "{{.summarize_prefix}}{{if .JIRA_NUM}}({{.JIRA_NUM}}){{end}}: {{.summarize_title}}\n\n{{.summarize_message}}"

Create a shell function for convenience:

Add to your ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc:

function commit() {
  if [ -z "$1" ]; then
    echo "Usage: commit <JIRA-NUM>"
    return 1
  fi
  codegpt commit --template_vars "JIRA_NUM=$1" --no_confirm
}

# Usage: commit GAIA-2704

Auto-extract from git branch name (advanced):

If your branch follows naming convention like feature/GAIA-2704-add-security-scan:

# Add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc
function commit-auto() {
  local branch=$(git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD)
  local jira_num=$(echo "$branch" | grep -oE '[A-Z]+-[0-9]+' | head -1)

  if [ -z "$jira_num" ]; then
    echo "No Jira issue found in branch: $branch"
    codegpt commit --no_confirm
  else
    echo "Detected Jira issue: $jira_num"
    codegpt commit --template_vars "JIRA_NUM=$jira_num" --no_confirm
  fi
}

# Usage: commit-auto (auto-detects GAIA-2704 from branch name)

Network proxy required

Issue: API calls fail due to corporate firewall.

Solution: Configure proxy settings:

codegpt commit --proxy http://proxy.company.com:8080
# Or for SOCKS proxy
codegpt commit --socks socks5://127.0.0.1:1080