Tutorial
User Guide
Why This Extension
You stage files, click one command, and get a conventional commit message instantly.
- No AI/API key required
- Works fully local
- Multi-signal analysis (path + diff + metadata)
- Confidence-aware message generation (high confidence = precise wording)
- Smart scope detection (
auth, deps, etc.)
Main Features
- Conventional commit types:
feat, fix, docs, style, refactor, perf, test, build, ci, chore, revert
- Rename-aware wording
- Dependency-specific messages (
build(deps): ...)
- Optional multi-line commit body with compacted context
- Large-diff safety fallback for stable performance
- Explain command: inspect why a message was generated
Install
- Open VS Code Extensions (
Ctrl+Shift+X)
- Search: Git Message Generator By ARG RABBI
- Click Install
Or install directly from the VS Code Marketplace.
Quick Usage
- Open a Git repository in VS Code
- Stage your files (or keep unstaged if fallback enabled)
- Open Source Control
- Run
Generate Git Message
- Review and commit
Optional debug command:
Explain Last Generated Git MessageApply CommitGen Preset
Example Outputs
feat(auth): add createAccount
fix(api): guard token response
build(deps): update dependencies
refactor(core): remove legacyEngine.ts and add newEngine.ts
ci: update ci.yml, release.yml
Configuration (Practical)
| Setting |
Default |
What it does |
commitGen.maxHeaderLength |
72 |
Max header length |
commitGen.maxAnalyzedLinesPerFile |
1200 |
Per-file diff line cap |
commitGen.maxContextsPerFile |
12 |
Context extraction cap |
commitGen.maxRawDiffChars |
400000 |
Huge diff fallback threshold |
commitGen.includeBody |
true |
Include message body |
commitGen.bodyMaxLines |
12 |
Max body lines |
commitGen.bodyMaxContextsPerFile |
2 |
Max contexts per file in body |
commitGen.groupBodyByModule |
true |
Group body lines by module on larger commits |
commitGen.profile |
balanced |
Scoring profile (balanced/frontend/backend/infra) |
commitGen.autoDetectProfile |
true |
Auto detect profile when balanced |
commitGen.messageStyle |
balanced |
Message verbosity (concise/balanced/verbose) |
commitGen.showConfidence |
true |
Confidence notification |
commitGen.includeWorkingTreeWhenNoStaged |
true |
Use unstaged if no staged changes |
commitGen.debugTelemetry |
false |
Output timing/analysis metrics |
Suggested Config (Balanced Real-World)
{
"commitGen.profile": "balanced",
"commitGen.autoDetectProfile": true,
"commitGen.messageStyle": "balanced",
"commitGen.groupBodyByModule": true,
"commitGen.includeBody": true,
"commitGen.bodyMaxLines": 10,
"commitGen.maxHeaderLength": 72
}
Troubleshooting
- No message generated:
- Ensure repo is Git-initialized
- Stage files or enable unstaged fallback
- Message too generic:
- Split commit into smaller logical changes
- Use
messageStyle: "verbose"
- Large commit performance:
- Adjust
maxAnalyzedLinesPerFile
- Keep
maxRawDiffChars fallback enabled
Developer Notes
Architecture Summary
Pipeline:
gitService.ts collects changesanalysisPipeline.ts builds analyzed file set- scoring (
commitScorer.ts + profile multipliers)
- message composition (
messageComposer.ts)
extension.ts orchestration + UX + explain command
Maintainer reference:
Commands
npm install
npm run lint
npm run typecheck
npm run test
npm run build
npm run benchmark
npm run benchmark:ci
npm run golden:refresh
npm run release:plan
npm run package:check
Current Validation Quality
- Unit + golden regression tests are included
- Integration-style pure generation test is included
- Current benchmark script output (example from local run):
small files=5 lines=200 parseMs=37.28
medium files=20 lines=1600 parseMs=50.34
large files=40 lines=6400 parseMs=201.88
Release Automation
- CI validation workflow: lint + typecheck + test + build + package check
- Release benchmark quality gate:
npm run benchmark:ci
- Tag release workflow (
v*.*.*) publishes VSIX artifact
- Release planning workflow + script:
npm run release:plan.github/workflows/release-plan.yml
Contributing
Please follow:
License
MIT — LICENSE
Built with care by ARG RABBI
