Career / 4 min read
Good Commit vs. Your Commit: Why It Matters More Than You Think
Good commits make rollbacks easy; bad commits make them risky.
Good Commit vs. Your Commit: Why It Matters More Than You Think
Good commits make rollbacks easy; bad commits make them risky.
Are you using Git every day but still treating commit messages like an afterthought? Yes, I was the same at some point in time. If your commit history also looks like “First commit”, “bug fix”, “fix,” “final fix,” or “really final fix,”, “revert-1”, or “revert-2” this article is for you.
My Embarrassing Git Story (and What I Learned)
Sometime back, I was working on a project with a team that took code quality very seriously.
One day, my team lead asked me to roll back a feature I had implemented a week earlier. No problem, right? 🥲
Except my blunder (commit history) looked something like this:
commit a1b2c3d - final changes
commit d4e5f6g - fixed stuff
commit h7i8j9k - again commiting changesYeah… not exactly helpful.
It took me hours to resolve my mess.
That was the day I realized:
Writing good commit messages is not optional — it’s a lifesaver and rollback too😅.
What Makes a Bad Commit Message?
If you’ve ever written any of these commits, don’t worry — you’re not alone:
❌ “Fixed bug” — Which bug? How it was fixed?
❌ “Updated file” — That’s literally what Git is for, What file? and Why.
❌ “Refactored code” — What did you refactor? Why?
Bad commit messages make
- Debugging harder
- Slow down collaboration
- Turn version control into version chaos🥲.
How to Write a Perfect Git Commit Message
Follow this simple formula:
- Start with a short summary (40-50 chars max)
- Example:
Fix page load when clicking 'Submit' button
2. Use the imperative mood (like a command- like you’re doing it)
- Bad:
Fixed login issue - Good:
Fix login issue
3. Add context if needed (but keep it short)
- Example:
Fix login issue on Safari The login form was not submitting due to a JS error. Added a fallback to prevent crashes on older browsers.
4. Use prefixes for clarity (if your team has a convention)
feat:for new featuresfix:for bug fixeschore:for minor changesdocs:for documentation updates
5. Keep it concise, but meaningful
- “Improve search function” → ✅
- “Fixed some stuff in search.js” → ❌
Why This Matters (Real-World Benefits)
- Easier Debugging — When something breaks, you can quickly understand through your commit messages what went wrong.
- Better Collaboration — Teammates (and future-you) will thank you.
- Cleaner Code History — No more sitting and thinking “what the heck did I do here?”.
- Professionalism — Good commit messages make you look like a professional and experienced developer.
Final Thoughts
Next time you push a commit, take an extra 30–60 seconds to write something useful. Your future self — and your team — will appreciate it.
If you don’t have a commit structure so far then it’s a priority that needed to be discussed within a team where you can come up with a common structure which everyone follows.
💬 Your Turn: Have you written any such commit messages? Drop your commit message writing method in the comments! and let’s have some comments over commits👇
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