obligecommit

Obligecommit is a specialized command-line utility that enforces standards and policies for commit messages in software version control systems. Designed primarily for Git repositories, the tool hooks into the commit workflow to validate that each commit message adheres to predefined guidelines, such as length limits, subject line format, or reference to issue identifiers. The purpose of obligecommit is to improve commit hygiene, ensuring that the repository history remains readable and that incremental changes can be easily traced back to user stories or bug reports.

The utility was first released in early 2018 by an independent developer community focused on open-source collaboration best practices. The syntax is simple: after installation, developers place an .obligecommit file in the repository root, which declares the rules to apply. Integration is typically achieved by adding a pre-commit hook that calls obligecommit before the git commit command finalizes the change. If a message fails validation, the commit is aborted, and the developer receives a detailed error report outlining the violated rules. Options include automatically inserting ticket numbers, enforcing the Conventional Commits format, or requiring a certain number of lines in the body to justify the change.

Obligecommit is compatible with macOS, Linux, and Windows environments and can be used alongside other tools such as git hooks, continuous integration pipelines, and code review platforms. The project is hosted on GitHub under a permissive MIT license, facilitating community contributions. While it shares similarities with tools like commitizen and husky, obligecommit distinguishes itself by offering a uniform rule set that can be shared across multiple repositories in an organization.