git commit -m "Fix bug in login flow" The -m flag is convenient for short messages, but it completely bypasses the COMMIT-EDITMSG workflow. This means you also bypass the powerful features that come with it: templates, hook validation, and multi-line editing. To truly appreciate the file, let's walk through a manual commit. Imagine you have staged changes. You run git commit . Your editor opens, and you see something like this:
In the world of Git, much of the spotlight falls on commands like commit , push , merge , and rebase . Developers boast about their aliases, their branching strategies, and their elegant use of interactive rebasing. Yet, nestled quietly in the .git folder of every repository lies a humble, often-overlooked file: COMMIT-EDITMSG . COMMIT-EDITMSG
Your commit-msg hook can read .git/COMMIT_EDITMSG and reject the commit if it doesn't match the regex: git commit -m "Fix bug in login flow"
| File | Purpose | | :--- | :--- | | .git/COMMIT_EDITMSG | Temporary storage for the current commit message. | | .git/MERGE_MSG | Temporary storage for a merge commit message. | | .git/SQUASH_MSG | Temporary storage for a squash commit message. | | .git/index | The staging area (not human-readable). | Imagine you have staged changes