Once you save and close the file, Git reads the content, strips out the comments, and uses the remaining text as the permanent message for that commit. The Role of COMMIT_EDITMSG in Best Practices
The existence of this file encourages developers to move away from "one-liner" commits and toward the industry-standard . According to many commit message guides , a well-structured message should have:
By setting git config commit.template , you can pre-fill COMMIT_EDITMSG with a checklist or a specific format your team follows.