Git Commit Suggestion
Stop staring at a blank commit message. Stage your changes, click Suggest, and get 3–8 Conventional Commits proposals to pick from.
Features
- Zero setup. The default provider needs no API key — it just works on the first launch.
- 21 output languages. English, Vietnamese, 简体中文, 繁體中文, 日本語, 한국어, Español, Français, Deutsch, Português, Русский, Bahasa Indonesia, ภาษาไทย, العربية, हिन्दी, Italiano, Türkçe, Polski, Nederlands, Українська, Svenska. The entire panel switches language with one dropdown.
- Conventional Commits aware. Type / scope / subject / body are generated according to your chosen best-practice rules: imperative mood, subject ≤ 50 chars, capitalize, no trailing period, wrap body at 72, body explains why (not how), reference issues.
- Three detail levels. Subject only, subject + brief body, or full multi-paragraph explanation.
- BYOK when you want better quality. Paste a key for Mistral, OpenAI, Anthropic, or Groq in the inline settings panel — no JSON editing required.
- One-click commit. Use this drops the formatted message straight into the Source Control input box. Review and commit normally.
Getting started
- Install the extension.
- Open a Git repository in VSCode.
- Click the lightbulb-on-phone icon in the Activity Bar (left edge).
- Stage at least one file (
git add ... or click + next to a file in Source Control).
- Click Suggest. Wait a couple of seconds.
- Click Use this on the suggestion you like. Review the commit message in the Source Control input. Press Commit.
That's it. No keys, no setup.
Settings
Click the ✏️ button in the panel header to open inline settings:
| Setting |
Default |
What it does |
| Output language |
English |
The language used for everything — UI labels, generated commit messages, error text. |
| Provider |
Auto |
Pick which LLM to call. Auto tries free providers in order and returns the first success. |
| Detail level |
Normal |
Concise = subject only, Normal = subject + brief body, Detailed = subject + multi-paragraph explanation. |
| Best practices |
5 of 7 |
Toggle individual Conventional Commits rules. Each rule maps to a line of guidance fed to the LLM. |
| Number of suggestions |
4 |
Between 1 and 8. |
| Show emoji prefix |
on |
Prepends ✨🐛📝… according to the commit type. |
| Include explanation body |
on |
Turn off for subject-only commit messages. |
Advanced settings (model overrides, custom prompts, diff truncation budget, unofficial provider gate) are exposed in VSCode's standard Settings under Extensions → Git Commit Suggestion.
Bring your own key (optional)
The default Auto mode does not need a key. If you want to use Mistral, OpenAI, Anthropic, or Groq:
- Select the provider in the inline settings panel.
- A banner appears: "API key required". Click Paste my key.
- Enter your key once — it's stored securely in VSCode's
SecretStorage (never in settings.json).
The key is per-machine and never synced.
Free keys you can grab in 60 seconds:
- Mistral —
console.mistral.ai → API Keys
- Groq —
console.groq.com → API Keys
- OpenAI / Anthropic — paid only
Privacy
- The extension sends your staged diff and a short prompt to whichever provider you selected. Nothing else.
- No telemetry, no analytics, no third-party tracking from the extension itself. (The LLM provider has its own policies — check theirs if your diffs contain sensitive code.)
- API keys live in VSCode
SecretStorage. They are encrypted per-machine.
- All settings stay in your local
settings.json. Nothing is written anywhere else.
For private repos with sensitive code: use Mistral or Anthropic with your own key, since their commercial terms forbid training on API content. Auto mode uses free community providers whose terms vary — review them before exposing private codebases.
Commands
| Command (palette) |
What it does |
Git Commit Suggestion: Suggest Commit Message |
Generate suggestions. Works even when the sidebar is hidden — falls back to a QuickPick. |
Git Commit Suggestion: Set API Key for Provider |
Store a key in SecretStorage. |
Git Commit Suggestion: Clear API Key for Provider |
Remove a stored key. |
Troubleshooting
| Symptom |
Fix |
| "Not inside a git repository" |
Open a folder that contains a .git folder. The extension walks up from the workspace root to find one. |
| "No staged changes" |
Stage at least one file with git add or the + button in Source Control. |
| Empty Source Control input box after Use this |
Make sure the built-in vscode.git extension is enabled. As a fallback, the message is copied to the clipboard. |
| All providers in Auto fail |
A community provider may be down. Switch to a BYOK provider (Mistral has a free tier). |
| Subject is in the wrong language |
Re-pick the output language from the dropdown and click Suggest again. |
Contributing
Developer guide and architecture notes live in CONTRIBUTING.md. Provider quirks and gotchas are in docs/knowledge-base.html.
License
MIT.
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