Bug Fix Template
Records the full story of a defect: what users experienced, why it happened, what the commit changes, and how you confirmed the fix. When the bug resurfaces months later, this is the message you'll be glad you wrote.
- The commit fixes a reported or discovered defect.
- The root cause is not obvious from the diff.
- You added a regression test or reproduced the issue.
Template
Replace each <placeholder> by hand when you write a commit.
Lines starting with # are guidance that Git removes in its default cleanup mode.
Completed example
A crash in a desktop Git client.
Fix crash when opening a repository with an empty stash Problem: Opening a repository whose stash reference existed but contained no entries crashed the app while loading the sidebar. Cause: The stash parser read the first entry without checking whether the list was empty. Fix: Return an empty stash list early and guard the sidebar section against a missing first entry. Verification: Added a regression test with an empty stash reflog. Reproduced the crash before the change and confirmed it no longer occurs.
Guidance
Rules
- Describe the user-visible symptom in the subject, starting with "Fix".
- Separate the problem (what happened) from the cause (why it happened).
- Be honest about uncertainty; "Cause not fully understood" is useful information.
- Mention the conditions needed to reproduce the bug.
Optional fields
- Cause
- If you only mitigated the symptom, say so explicitly rather than omitting the section.
- Verification
- Prefer a regression test; otherwise describe the manual reproduction.
Common mistakes
- Subjects such as "Fix bug" or "Fix issue in parser" that don't name the symptom.
- Describing only the code change and never the problem.
- Claiming a root cause that was not confirmed.
How it relates to other templates
Teams using Conventional Commits can write the subject as fix(scope): <symptom> and keep the four sections as the body. If the fix changes behavior that others depend on, also follow the Breaking Change template.
Use this template
Use in Tower
Tower for Mac
- Open Tower's Settings and select the Templates tab.
- Create a new template and enter the subject and body below. You can also download the template file and import it from the same tab. After importing, remove the lines that start with
#. They're guidance for Git's editor. - To use it by default, set it as the global Git value in the Templates tab, or pick it as the default commit template in a repository's settings.
- When you write a commit, click the Commit template button below the description field, or type t: or / in the subject field to choose a template.
More details: Commit Templates in the Tower for Mac documentation.
Tower for Windows
- Open Tower's Preferences and select the Templates tab.
- Click + to create a new template and enter the subject and body below.
- To use it by default, set it as the global default template, or pick it as the default in a repository's settings.
- When you write a commit, click the Commit template button in the commit composer, or type t: or / in the subject field to choose a template.
More details: Commit Templates in Tower for Windows.
Template fields for Tower
The library version with Git's # comment lines removed. If you edited the template above, copy your version from the editor instead.
Subject
Fix <the observable problem>Body
Problem:
<What went wrong, for whom, and under which conditions>
Cause:
<The root cause, as far as it is understood>
Fix:
<What this commit changes to resolve it>
Verification:
<How you confirmed the fix, e.g. a regression test>Use with the Git command line
Download gitmessage-bug-fix.txt
The commands below assume the file is in your Downloads folder.
macOS and Linux (Terminal)
Try it once
Run this in a repository with staged changes. Git opens your editor with the template filled in:
git commit --template ~/Downloads/gitmessage-bug-fix.txtMake it the default for one repository
From the repository's root folder, save the file as .gitmessage and point Git to it:
mv ~/Downloads/gitmessage-bug-fix.txt .gitmessage
git config commit.template .gitmessageMake it your global default
Save the file in your home folder and use it for every repository without its own setting:
mv ~/Downloads/gitmessage-bug-fix.txt ~/.gitmessage
git config --global commit.template "~/.gitmessage"Windows (PowerShell)
Try it once
Run this in a repository with staged changes. Git opens your editor with the template filled in:
git commit --template "$HOME\Downloads\gitmessage-bug-fix.txt"Make it the default for one repository
From the repository's root folder, save the file as .gitmessage and point Git to it:
Move-Item "$HOME\Downloads\gitmessage-bug-fix.txt" .gitmessage
git config commit.template .gitmessageMake it your global default
Save the file in your home folder and use it for every repository without its own setting:
Move-Item "$HOME\Downloads\gitmessage-bug-fix.txt" "$HOME\.gitmessage"
git config --global commit.template "~/.gitmessage"Share it with your team
Commit .gitmessage to the repository so everyone has the same file. Sharing the file does not configure anyone's Git: Git never applies settings from a repository automatically, so each teammate runs this once in their clone:
git config commit.template .gitmessageInspect, change, or remove the default
# Show the configured template and where it's set
git config --show-origin --get commit.template
# Point to a different file
git config commit.template path/to/other-template.txt
# Remove the repository or global setting
git config --unset commit.template
git config --global --unset commit.template- Templates guide, hooks enforce. A template only pre-fills the editor. To reject messages that don't follow a convention, add a commit-msg hook.
- Only the editor uses templates.
git commit -mandgit commit -Fbypass the template. - Unchanged templates abort the commit. If you save without editing the template, Git stops with "you did not edit the message".
- Comment removal depends on cleanup. Git strips
#lines under its defaultstripcleanup mode. With--cleanup=verbatim,--cleanup=whitespace, or a matchingcommit.cleanupsetting, they stay in the message. If you changedcore.commentChar,#lines aren't treated as comments. - Other commands write their own messages.
git revertandgit mergedon't loadcommit.template.
Setting up Git from scratch? The Git Config Generator builds a complete .gitconfig for you. See the git commit documentation for all options.
Use with coding agents
This skill teaches your coding agent to draft commit messages in the Bug Fix format. It uses the library version of the template. Edits you make in the editor above aren't included.
- Follows your repository's instructions and your explicit requests first.
- Reads the staged changes and keeps unstaged work out of the message.
- Never invents motivation, issue numbers, benchmarks, or test results. It leaves placeholders and asks instead.
- Flags breaking changes and unrelated changes that should be split.
- Drafts only. It won't stage, commit, or push unless you ask it to.
Download skill commit-message-bug-fix-v1.0.0.zip · Agent Skills format · MIT-0 license
Contains commit-message-bug-fix/SKILL.md with the instructions, references/REFERENCE.md with the rules and a completed example, and assets/template.txt.
Install in Claude Code
- Unzip the download. It contains a single folder named after the skill.
- Move that folder to
.claude/skills/in your repository to share it with your team, or to~/.claude/skills/to use it in all your projects. - Start a new Claude Code session and ask it to draft a commit message. You can also invoke the skill directly with
/commit-message-bug-fix.
See the Claude Code skills documentation for details.
Other agents
The package uses the open Agent Skills format, but we've only tested the agents listed above. For any other agent, check its documentation for skill support, or add the instructions below to its configuration file, such as AGENTS.md.
Copy the instructions
Add these instructions to your agent's configuration or your repository's AGENTS.md:
## Commit messages
Use the Bug Fix structure below.
```text
Fix <the observable problem>
Problem:
<What went wrong, for whom, and under which conditions>
Cause:
<The root cause, as far as it is understood>
Fix:
<What this commit changes to resolve it>
Verification:
<How you confirmed the fix, e.g. a regression test>
```
Rules:
- Describe the user-visible symptom in the subject, starting with "Fix".
- Separate the problem (what happened) from the cause (why it happened).
- Be honest about uncertainty; "Cause not fully understood" is useful information.
- Mention the conditions needed to reproduce the bug.
- Describe the problem from the evidence available (the user's report, failing test, error message, or the diff). Do not invent reproduction steps, affected users, or version numbers.
- State the cause only if the diff or the user makes it clear. Otherwise write that the cause is not confirmed or leave a placeholder.
- Under Verification, list only tests or checks that were actually run or reported. If none were, say so or leave a placeholder.
When writing a commit message:
- Base it on the staged changes (`git diff --staged`). Don't describe unstaged work as part of the commit.
- If the staged changes are unrelated to each other, suggest splitting the commit.
- Never invent motivation, issue identifiers, benchmark numbers, or test results. Keep a `<placeholder>` and ask instead.
- Call out breaking changes and include migration information supported by the changes.
- Draft the message for review. Don't stage, commit, or push unless explicitly asked.