There's currently no way to customize AI-generated commit messages on a
per-commit basis. You can put instructions in AGENTS.md or a project
rules file, but those get fed into every agent interaction, not just
commit generation. The built-in "Commit message" prompt used to be
editable in the Rules Library, but that was replaced by Skills, which
aren't used when generating commit messages.
This PR adds an `agent.commit_message_instructions` setting. Its
contents are added to the commit message prompt in their own section,
alongside any project rules, so you can ask for a specific format
(Conventional Commits, a ticket prefix, etc.) without changing how the
agent behaves elsewhere:
```json
{
"agent": {
"commit_message_instructions": "Use the Conventional Commits format: <type>(<scope>): <description>."
}
}
```
Self-Review Checklist:
- [x] I've reviewed my own diff for quality, security, and reliability
- [x] Unsafe blocks (if any) have justifying comments
- [x] The content is consistent with the [UI/UX
checklist](https://github.com/zed-industries/zed/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md#uiux-checklist)
- [x] Tests cover the new/changed behavior
- [x] Performance impact has been considered and is acceptable
Addresses #26503
Release Notes:
- Added an `agent.commit_message_instructions` setting to customize
AI-generated git commit messages.
---------
Co-authored-by: Christopher Biscardi <chris@christopherbiscardi.com>7 files changedLine totals unavailable