- Purpose
- Install
- Using in Projects
- Commits
- Versioning Triggers
- Example Commit Messages
- License and Development
- Contact
Purpose
This is a shareable configuration for semantic-release and documents a standard commit message and continuous release practice.
It uses the following plugins:
@semantic-release/commit-analyzer@semantic-release/release-notes-generator@semantic-release/changelog@semantic-release/npm@semantic-release/github@semantic-release/git
Install
Follow these detailed installation insructions.
Using in Projects
This specification is inspired by and supersedes the Angular Commit Message. Feel free to copy and modify this section in your own project, or link back here as a common resource.
Commits
If possible, make atomic commits, which means:
- a commit should contain exactly one self-contained functional change
- a functional change should be contained in exactly one commit
- a commit should not create an inconsistent state (such as test errors, linting errors, partial fix, feature with documentation etc...)
A complex feature can be broken down into multiple commits as long as each one maintains a consistent state and consists of a self-contained change.
This project uses very precise rules over how Git commit messages must be formatted. This leads to easier to read commit history.
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 except for those of type "docs".
When the body is present it must be at least 20 characters long and must conform to the Commit Message Body format.
The footer is optional unless resolving issues. The Commit Message Footer format describes what the footer is used for and the structure it must have.
Commit Header Format
The header contains succinct description of the change:
- use the imperative, present tense: "change" not "changed" nor "changes"
- don't capitalize first letter
- no dot (.) at the end
- if the commit is of type
revert, includereverts commit <hash>, where the hash is the SHA of the commit being reverted
<type>(<scope>): <short summary>
│ │ │
│ │ └─⫸ Summary in present tense. Not capitalized. No period at the end.
│ │
│ └─⫸ Commit Scope: <custom>|api|contributing|license|readme|security
│
└─⫸ Commit Type: build|ci|docs|feat|fix|perf|refactor|revert|test
Types
Required. Must be one of the following:
-
api: Non-functional changes to code API documentation that help other developers understand how to use a tool or feature (i.e. intellisense) -
build: Changes that affect the build system configuration, package scripts, or dev dependencies (i.e. adds/remove/modify/update) -
ci: Changes to CI configuration files and scripts (e.g. release configs, YAML scripts) -
docs: Documentation only changes -
feat: Adds or enhances a new matcher -
fix: Fixes a bug in an existing feature. Also used for non-dev dependency updates. -
perf: A code change that improves performance -
refactor: A code change that neither fixes a bug nor adds a feature -
revert: Revert to a commit -
test: Add missing tests or correct existing tests
Scopes
Optional. If used, must be one of the following supported scopes:
-
<custom>: Used for extending these settings with your own project's requirements -
contributing: Contributions to this guidance or the Code of Conduct -
license: Changes to terms or copyright status within the license.- Any change in license type MUST include a BREAKING CHANGE
-
readme: Contributions to the main README.md -
security: Changes that address code related security issues or security policies
Commit Body Format
Provide a plain text description of why you made this change. This is the place for you to explain your thought process, developer to developer. If helpful, include a comparison of the previous behavior with the new behavior to illustrate the change's impact.
If there are breaking changes, start the body with BREAKING CHANGE: <breaking change summary>.
Commit Footer Format
The footer identifies which issues this commit fixes. If none, leave it blank. Otherwise, use the format Resolves #<issue number>. If more than one issue is resolved, separate them with a comma.
Versioning Triggers
This project uses Semantic Versioning and updates automatically based on specific types used in the commit messages.
Pushes to the main branch causes semantic-release to check all commits since the last version for any triggers that would cause a new version. This project extends the defaults:
- Patch
fixperfapi
- Version
feat
- Major
BREAKING CHANGE
Extensions from the semantic-release default:
-
apitriggers a patch. Only use this type for non-functional changes to code API documentation that help other developers understand how to use the code.- Appropriate use: changing JSDoc comments to make Intellisense more useful for other developers
- Inappropriate use: Adding a new function (use
feat), removing an optional parameter (useBREAKING CHANGE)
This keeps API documentation for the end user as a first-class citizen without patching for any and all changes to the README or other supporting docs.
Example Commit Messages
Minor Version Change:
feat(index): add function `foo`
This function adds the key functionality to the project.
Resolves: #1
Patch Version Change:
fix(index): add function `foo`
This function adds the key functionality to the project.
Resolves: #2
Major Version Change:
feat(index): add function `foobar`
BREAKING CHANGE: This function does some new useful things. Due to refactoring in the `foo` function, it no longer
Resolves: #3
No Change:
docs(readme): update readme to document new changes to `foo`
refactor: change `foo` implementation to faster xyz algorithm
Patch Version Change:
api: update the JSDoc comments in the `foo` function for parameter clarity
License and Development
This configuration and all other files in this repository are distributed as free and open-source software under the MIT License, © 2022.
Contributions and bug reports welcome.
Leave a 🌟 if you find this project useful!
Contact
Maintained by M. Scott Lassiter.
