git

Write clear commit messages and a clean PR description from a diff

Turns a raw git diff into properly scoped conventional commit messages and a PR description that explains why the change was made, not just what changed.

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Who should use this

Is this prompt for you?

Developers who tend to write vague commit messages under deadline pressure
Teams enforcing a conventional commits or changelog-driven workflow
Anyone opening a pull request who wants reviewers to actually understand the change quickly

The prompt

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Prompt

Look at this git diff and help me write clear commit messages and a PR description.

Diff: [paste the output of `git diff` or `git diff --staged`]
Branch/PR context: [what this change is for, e.g. "fixes a checkout bug reported in issue #482" or "adds the invite-teammate feature"]
Commit convention: [Conventional Commits (feat/fix/chore/refactor/docs/test) / your team's own style — specify, or say "no strict convention"]

Do the following:
1. If this diff actually contains multiple unrelated changes, tell me — don't force it into one commit message. Suggest how I should have split it into separate commits instead.
2. Write a commit message (or one per logical change) following the specified convention: a short imperative summary line (under ~72 characters), a blank line, then a body explaining WHY the change was made and any tradeoffs — not a restatement of the diff line by line
3. Flag anything in the diff that looks like it shouldn't be committed — debug console.logs, commented-out code, secrets/API keys, unrelated formatting-only changes mixed into a logic change
4. Write a PR description with: a one-paragraph summary of the change and why, a "how to test this" section with concrete steps, and a checklist of anything the reviewer should pay special attention to (e.g. "this touches the payment retry logic — please check the idempotency handling")
5. If the diff fixes a bug, make sure the commit message and PR description explain the root cause, not just "fixed bug"

Keep the tone factual and specific — no vague phrases like "various improvements" or "minor changes."

Works well with Claude Code, GitHub Copilot and Cursor.

How to use it

Getting the best result

1Paste the real diff, not a description of your changes — the AI needs to see what actually changed
2Tell it your team's actual commit convention (or lack of one) so the format matches what your repo already uses
3Split the diff into separate commits yourself if it flags unrelated changes bundled together
4Remove anything it flags as "shouldn't be committed" before pushing, don't just note it and move on

Expected result

What you should get back

A clear statement of whether the diff should be one commit or several, with reasoning
Conventional, well-scoped commit message(s) explaining why the change was made, not just what changed
A flagged list of anything suspicious in the diff — debug code, secrets, unrelated changes
A PR description with a summary, concrete test steps, and a reviewer checklist

Tips

Get more out of this prompt

Run this on the staged diff right before committing, not after — it's much easier to still split commits at that point
Always double check the "shouldn't be committed" flags yourself; accidentally committed secrets need rotating, not just removing
Ask for the PR description's test steps to be concrete enough that someone unfamiliar with the change could actually follow them

Common mistakes

What to watch out for

Forcing multiple unrelated changes into one vague commit message instead of splitting the diff
Writing a commit message that restates the diff ("changed function X") instead of explaining why
Not checking for accidentally committed secrets or debug code before pushing

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