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Write a commit message in your club repo's exact format

Practice: Asking for a format you can use. About 5 minutes.

About this exercise

You're committing this fix to the Campus Events open-source club repo, which uses this format: a subject 'fix(calendar): ...' in lowercase imperative under 50 characters, a blank line, exactly 2 body lines starting with '- ', and a last line 'Closes #214'. Put the message in exactly 1 code block of at most 4 non-empty lines, with under 10 words outside it.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Letting the AI guess the format. Without your repo's rules, the AI writes 'Fix timezone bug' or a long paragraph body. Try: Show the shape: "fix(calendar): <subject>, blank line, 2 lines starting '- ', then Closes #214."
  • A vague body. The AI often writes 'fixed the bug' instead of what the code changed. Try: Ask: "One bullet on local date vs toISOString (UTC), one on the new test."
  • Wrong closing keyword. The AI picks Fixes, Resolves or leaves it out, and your repo's bot only reads one form. Try: Add: "Last line exactly: Closes #214."
  • Chatter around it. The AI adds 'Here's a commit message' and tips about git. Try: Add: "Only the message in one code block, nothing else."

What a strong prompt includes

  • Gives the subject format
  • Sets the body lines
  • Gives the closing line
  • Says what the change was
  • Asks for only the message

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