The Problem: Writing Commit Messages Sucks
If you've ever worked on a project with frequent commits, you know the pain of writing commit messages. In the past year alone, I've made over 2,500 commits—and I had to write every single message.
Some were clear and meaningful. Others? Not so much. I’d often type something generic like fix stuff or small changes just to move on. But when I needed to revisit those changes, I had zero context on what actually happened in those commits.
Wouldn't it be great if something could just write the commit messages for me?
The Idea: Let AI Do the Heavy Lifting
That's when I decided to build Cortex CLI, an AI-powered commit message generator. The idea was simple:
- Read my code changes
- Pass them to an AI
- Get a meaningful commit message in return
I started this as a quick side project, but it quickly became indispensable. Now, I use it every single day, and some of my friends do too.
Last month alone, three of us generated over 700 commit messages using Cortex. The time savings have been massive, and my commit history has never been this clean.
How It Works
The CLI: Your Terminal's Best Friend
Cortex CLI is a command-line tool that integrates seamlessly into your workflow. After installing it and setting your API token, you can generate commit messages like magic:
cortex commit-message --commitStaged
Boom! AI-generated commit messages, no thinking required. You just review the output and move on.
Want to integrate it deeper? You can create a .cortexrc file in your projects to customize how the AI generates messages. One of my favorite features is the --preScript flag, which runs unit tests and linting before committing. No more broken commits!
The Web App: A Command Center for Your Commits
While the CLI is great for quick commits, I also wanted a UI where I could manage everything—so I built one in Meteor, React, and MongoDB.
What can you do in the UI?
✅ View all AI-generated commit messages\
✅ Create templates to fine-tune how messages are generated\
✅ Set up daily commit reports summarizing your work\
✅ Organize and filter your commits with tags (coming soon!)
And of course, the API lives here as well, powering both the CLI and the web app.
Challenges & Solutions
1. Getting AI to Write Good Commit Messages
At first, I struggled to get consistently useful commit messages. The AI would sometimes produce vague or unhelpful descriptions. The problem? The prompt mattered way more than I expected.
So, instead of fighting it, I built a template system that lets users customize exactly how they want their commit messages structured. Now, you can use template strings and create AI prompts that match your team's style.
🔗 Check out the Templates Docs
2. Keeping Code Secure
I knew that people would be worried about sending their code to an AI. That’s why Cortex never stores or shares your source code. It only processes the diffs of your changes and deletes everything afterward.
✅ Security-first design. No storing, no tracking.
How We’re Using It
Everyone in my circle uses Cortex the same way:
-
Create a
.cortexrcfile in each project to customize AI behavior -
Run
cortex commit-messagewhenever committing changes -
(Optional) Use
--preScriptto run tests before committing
This setup has saved us tons of time. No more pausing coding sessions just to think about commit messages. We just review, approve, and move on.
What’s Next?
This is just the beginning! Here’s what’s coming:
🚀 JetBrains & VS Code extensions – No need to run commands, just click a button!\
🤖 AI-powered code reviews – Before committing, get suggestions on how to improve your code.\
🏷️ Better filters & tags – Make the UI even more powerful.
I’m also open to feedback! If you try it out and have ideas, let me know.
👉 Get started here: https://commits.denyhs.com/docs?section=getting-started
Let’s Automate Commit Messages Forever
Building Cortex has been a game-changer for me and my workflow. If you’re tired of writing commit messages, give it a try!
Would love to hear your thoughts. What features would you like to see next? Let’s make commit messages effortless for everyone! 🚀
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