smart-committer

A CLI tool that leverages Google's Gemini AI to generate meaningful commit messages from staged Git changes and optionally update the README.

Features

• AI-Powered Commits: Generate conventional commit messages automatically
• Smart README Updates: Keep your documentation in sync with code changes
• Secure Setup: Interactive first-run setup with encrypted API key storage
• Customizable: Edit AI suggestions before committing
• Fast & Free: Uses Google's Gemini AI free tier (1,500 requests/day)

Installation

Global Installation (Recommended)

npm install -g @ikaychina/smart-committer

Using npx (No Installation Required)

npx @ikaychina/smart-committer

First-Time Setup

When you run smart-commit for the first time, it will guide you through an interactive setup:

1. Welcome Screen: Learn about smart-commit's features
2. API Key Setup: Get step-by-step instructions to obtain your free Gemini API key
3. Secure Storage: Your key is encrypted and stored locally at ~/.smart-commit/config.json

Getting Your Free API Key

Smart-commit uses Google's Gemini AI, which offers a generous FREE tier:

• 1,500 requests per day
• 1 million tokens per month
• No credit card required
• Costs almost nothing even with heavy usage

Get your key in 30 seconds: Google AI Studio

Privacy Note: Your API key is stored securely on your local machine only. It's never sent to any third-party servers except Google's Gemini API.

Usage

Basic Usage

1. Stage your changes:

git add .

2. Run smart-commit:

smart-commit

3. Review the AI-generated message, edit if needed, and commit!

Update README

Check if your README is in sync with the codebase:

smart-commit --update-readme
# or
smart-commit -r

Reconfigure API Key

If you need to change your API key:

smart-commit --config
# or
smart-commit -c
smart-commit --reset-key

Help & Version

smart-commit --help     # Show all available options
smart-commit -h         # Short form

smart-commit --version  # Show version number
smart-commit -v         # Short form

Advanced Configuration

Manual Environment Variable Setup (Optional)

If you prefer using environment variables instead of the interactive setup:

Windows (PowerShell):

# Temporary (current session only)
$env:GEMINI_API_KEY="YOUR_API_KEY"

# Permanent (all sessions)
[System.Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable('GEMINI_API_KEY', 'YOUR_API_KEY', 'User')

macOS/Linux:

# Temporary (current session)
export GEMINI_API_KEY=YOUR_API_KEY

# Permanent (add to ~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc, or ~/.bash_profile)
echo 'export GEMINI_API_KEY=YOUR_API_KEY' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

Tip: Environment variables take priority over the stored config file.

Workflow

1. Stage your changes: Use git add . or git add <file> to stage the changes you want to commit.
2. Run smart-commit: Execute the CLI tool.
3. Review the generated commit message: The AI will display a conventional commit message.
4. Choose an action:
   • Yes: Commit with the generated message.
   • Edit: Modify the message before committing.
   • Cancel: Abort the commit.
5. Push to GitHub (optional): After committing, you'll be asked if you want to push your changes.

Why Get Your Own API Key?

While it might be tempting to share API keys, getting your own has significant benefits:

• It's completely FREE - No credit card required
• Takes only 30 seconds to set up
• Your data stays private - No shared rate limits
• Costs almost nothing - Even with heavy usage, you'll stay within the free tier
• 1,500 requests/day is plenty for daily development work
• Track your own usage in Google AI Studio

The free tier is extremely generous and designed for developers like you!

Development

Local Development Setup

git clone https://github.com/Amaechina-Ikechukwu/smart-committer.git
cd smart-committer
npm install
npm run build
npm start

Dependencies

• @google/generative-ai: For interacting with the Gemini AI model
• inquirer: For interactive command-line prompts
• ora: For displaying spinners in the console

License

MIT

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.