git-msg removes the pause before git commit. Stage your changes, run git msg, and get a clear commit message you can use, edit, or cancel — without leaving the terminal.

No AI. No config. No editor.

Install

npm i -g @alcanivorax/git-msg

Usage

Stage your changes as usual, then run:

git add .
git msg

You'll see something like:

Suggested commit message:

  feat(auth): add user authentication

[e]dit  [u]se  [c]ancel

Press a single key — no Enter required.

| Key | Action | | --- | ------------------------------------ | | u | Commit with the suggested message | | e | Edit the message inline, then commit | | c | Abort |

Inline editing

Pressing e opens a prompt with the message pre-filled:

Edit commit message:
> feat(auth): add user authentication

Edit it like any shell input. Enter commits. Ctrl+C cancels. No vim, no $EDITOR.

Message format

Suggestions follow the Conventional Commits format:

<type>(<scope>): <verb> <object>

The scope is included when the staged files share a clear module or directory. It is omitted when changes span multiple unrelated areas.

Examples:

feat(auth): add user authentication
fix(api): handle null response in user validation
feat(auth): implement JWT token refresh
refactor: remove legacy payment module
test(auth): add login flow tests
chore: update eslint config
docs: update contributing guide
ci: update node version matrix

How messages are generated

git-msg reads your staged changeset and derives the message from three sources:

File metadata

• Git status codes (A, M, D, R, C) determine the verb — add, remove, rename, etc.
• File paths determine the scope and object — src/auth/login.ts → scope auth
• Change size (insertions vs. deletions) refines the verb for modification-only changes

Diff content

• Newly declared symbols (functions, classes, types, interfaces) are extracted and used as the commit object — validateUserEmail → user email
• Fix/error keywords in added lines (error, bug, crash, invalid, etc.) promote the type to fix
• Test framework patterns (describe, it, expect) promote the type to test
• New package imports are detected for context

Classification

• Files are classified into categories (code, tests, docs, config, build, ci, styles) and the dominant category maps to a commit type
• When signals conflict, higher-confidence signals win — fix patterns beat a generic feat, all-deletes become refactor

No AI. No AST parsing. No network calls. The tool runs entirely offline and produces a deterministic result for a given set of staged files.

Options

git msg [options]

  -h, --help     Show help
  -v, --version  Show version

License

MIT