A personal VS Code extension that generates concise git commit messages from
your diff, using your existing Claude Code CLI subscription (no separate API
key needed).
How it works
Click the sparkle icon next to the Source Control commit message box (or run
"Generate Commit Message (AI)" from the Command Palette). The extension:
Reads your staged diff (git diff --cached), falling back to all pending
changes if nothing is staged.
Sends it to the claude CLI non-interactively (claude -p), with all
tool access disabled — it's a pure text-in/text-out call, never touching
your filesystem or running commands.
Writes the resulting commit message into the SCM input box.
Requirements
The Claude Code CLI installed and logged
in (claude on your PATH, or set commitMsgAI.claudePath to its full
path).
VS Code's built-in Git extension enabled.
Settings
Setting
Default
Description
commitMsgAI.claudePath
"claude"
Path to the Claude Code CLI binary
commitMsgAI.model
"sonnet"
Model alias passed to claude --model
commitMsgAI.maxDiffChars
8000
Max diff characters sent to Claude
commitMsgAI.timeoutMs
30000
Timeout for the Claude CLI call
Development
npm install
Press F5 in VS Code to launch an Extension Development Host with the
extension loaded. Edit files in src/; esbuild watches and rebuilds
automatically — reload the dev host window (Cmd+R) to pick up changes.
Packaging for personal use
npm run package
Produces commit-msg-ai-0.0.1.vsix. Install it via the Extensions view →
"..." menu → "Install from VSIX...". This is not published to the
Marketplace.
