I think the two most important rules are: 1- The first line should give a good description of the commit 2- Avoid long lines (reading truncated commit message

I think the two most important rules are: 1- The first line should give a good description of the commit 2- Avoid long lines (reading truncated commit messages is painful) Other than that I think it's all common sense/good judgment and I'm not attached to a particular writing style or kind of sentences one should make.