Committing Changes

The Commit command creates a new commit from staged changes in the local repository.

Using the Commit View to create commits in most instances is recommended, as this allows new commits to be easily managed.
Alternatively, the Local | Commit command adds a dialog with additional functionality, such as selecting a commit message from a recent previous commit.

Commit Basics

The following changes will be included in a commit:

All staged changes: If all modified files in the Working Tree are staged in the Index, the Commit will consist of these staged changes.
Staged changes only: If there is a mix of staged and unstaged changes in the Working Tree, only the staged changes will be committed. The remaining changes will stay as modified files in the Working Tree.
No staged changes: If the Working Tree contains modified files, but no changes are staged, the Commit command will prompt you to automatically stage all visible modified files before creating the commit. This produces the same result as manually staging and committing all modified files.

After the commit:

Newly staged files will be added to the repository.
Modified files will be updated in the repository.
Previously tracked files were deleted in the Working Tree and staged and will be removed from the repository.

Commit Messages

While entering the commit message, use the <Ctrl>+<Space>-keystroke to auto-complete file names or paths. SmartGit will display a shortlist of files eligible for the commit, and when selecting a file, it will paste its name into the commit message.

Use Select from Log to choose a commit message or SHA ID from the Log.

Tip

As commit messages are often displayed alongside a commit hash, keep them short and to the point, allowing other users to understand the changes in a commit quickly.

By default, SmartGit ‘guides’ the writing of commit messages in a standardized format with limited line lengths. You can disable this line length guide under Edit | Preferences.

Amending Commits

If Amend last commit is selected, you can combine the current changes with the previous commit, such as adding a modified file excluded from the previous commit. By default, this option is only available for commits that have not been pushed. You can enable it for already pushed commits in Preferences under the Commands section.

When amending a commit, you have the option to replace, or reuse the commit message on the previous commit.

Note:

Amending a commit replaces the previous commit with a new one that combines changes from both commits.

Amending a pushed commit is not recommended because it effectively rewrites the commit history and my cause issues for other users.

If you commit while the Working Tree is merging, you can create either a merge or a normal commit. See Merge for details.

Note

If the Working Tree is in a merging or rebasing state (see Merge and Rebase), you can only commit the entire working tree.

If the commit fails because Git complains “unable to auto-detect email address”, you should set your name and email address in the Repository Settings .

Altering Local Commits

SmartGit provides several options for altering local commits:

Undo Last Commit: Moves the content of the last commit to the Index without losing any changes.
Edit Commit Message: Modify the commit message of the last commit or any local commit. Select the commit and invoke Edit Commit Message from its context menu in the Journal view of the Working Tree window or the Graph view of the Log window.
Squash Commits: Combine multiple local commits into a single commit by selecting the range of commits in the Journal view (off the Working Tree Window) or the Graph view (of the Log Window), then invoking Squash Commits from the context menu.
Reorder Commits: Drag and drop a commit to a different location in the Journal or Graph view to change its position.

Warning

Avoid undoing a commit already pushed to a remote repository unless you understand the implications. Undoing such commits may require a force-puss, which could discard other users’ commits in the remote repository.