Commit Early, Commit Often — but Don’t Overcommit
When you're coding, it's great to commit early and often to keep your changes manageable and trackable. However, overdoing it with too many small commits can clutter your history and make it harder to review changes. Striking the right balance is key to a clean and efficient workflow.
Frequent Commits Are Good, But Too Many Can Be a Problem
Imagine you’re working on a Swift app and you make small changes, like fixing a typo and adjusting some spacing. If you commit each tiny change separately, your commit history becomes noisy and hard to navigate. For example, a series of commits like “Fixed typo,” “Adjusted spacing,” and “Cleaned up comments” can be squashed into a single, meaningful commit.
Example of Overcommitment
Consider this series of commits in a Swift project:
- “Fixed typo in User.swift”
- “Updated method names in User.swift”
- “Refactored User.swift”
- “Adjusted spacing in User.swift”
All these changes could be combined into one commit like:
“Refactored User.swift: Fixed typos, updated method names, and adjusted spacing.”
This keeps your commit history cleaner and more informative.
Best Practices for Effective Commits
Aim to group related changes into a single commit.
Aim to group related changes into a single commit.
For instance, if you're updating the UI and fixing bugs simultaneously, create separate commits for each task.
This way, your history reflects logical changes rather than a sequence of minor tweaks.
Using Commit Messages Wisely
Good commit messages can make a big difference.
Good commit messages can make a big difference.
Instead of committing with generic messages like “Fixed bugs,” be specific.
A message like “Fixed crash in login flow and improved error handling” provides more context and helps in tracking changes.
Balancing Act
Remember, frequent commits help keep your work incremental and manageable.
Remember, frequent commits help keep your work incremental and manageable.
However, avoid overcommitting by ensuring each commit has a clear purpose and adds value. This balance helps maintain a clean and meaningful commit history that’s easy to review and understand.
Commit and Reflect
Committing often is a good practice for maintaining a clear development path, but overcommitting with unnecessary or excessive changes can create confusion.
Committing often is a good practice for maintaining a clear development path, but overcommitting with unnecessary or excessive changes can create confusion.
Aim to keep your commits relevant and concise, combining smaller changes into meaningful updates when appropriate. This approach ensures a well-organized commit history and a more efficient workflow.
0 comments