I agree, context is everything. Some commenters here and in the OP argue that there should be no dot at the end because git commit messages are used as the sub

I agree, context is everything. Some commenters here and in the OP argue that there should be no dot at the end because git commit messages are used as the subject of emails. This is of course true in the context of e.g. the linux kernel [1], so the advice makes sense in that context. But realistically most people today view git through a different client than email, usually github/git CLI. Often, commit messages are the same as PR titles; in that context it makes sense to adopt commits-as-titles. It all comes down to team preference ultimately. [1] Technically not 100% true these days due to the github mirror