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nullcommits 🚀

AI-powered git commit message enhancer using Claude Sonnet & GPT-5.4. Transform your simple commit messages into clear, emoji-enhanced, professional descriptions that anyone can understand.

Installation

npm install -g nullcommits

Quick Start

# 1. Set your API key (Anthropic recommended, OpenAI also supported)
nullcommits config set-anthropic-key sk-ant-your-api-key-here
# OR: nullcommits config set-key sk-your-openai-key-here

# 2. (Optional) Create a customizable template
nullcommits init

# 3. Install the hook in your git repo
cd your-project
nullcommits install

# 4. Commit as usual - messages are automatically enhanced!
git commit -m "fix bug"

Commands

nullcommits config set-anthropic-key <apiKey>

Save your Anthropic API key to ~/.nullcommitsrc. When set, Claude Sonnet is used as the primary AI provider with automatic fallback to OpenAI if the Anthropic call fails:

nullcommits config set-anthropic-key sk-ant-your-api-key-here

nullcommits config set-key <apiKey>

Save your OpenAI API key to ~/.nullcommitsrc:

nullcommits config set-key sk-your-api-key-here

nullcommits config set-diff-budget <budget>

Set the maximum characters for diff collection (default: 128K). Supports K suffix:

# Set to 256,000 characters
nullcommits config set-diff-budget 256K

# Or use exact number
nullcommits config set-diff-budget 64000

nullcommits config show-diff-budget

Show the current diff budget setting:

nullcommits config show-diff-budget

nullcommits init

Create a global template file at ~/.nullcommits.template that you can customize:

nullcommits init

This creates the template file and shows you its location along with available template variables. Edit this file to customize how your commit messages are generated.

nullcommits install

Install the nullcommits hook in the current git repository:

cd your-project
nullcommits install

nullcommits uninstall

Remove the nullcommits hook from the current git repository:

nullcommits uninstall

Configuration

API Keys

nullcommits supports two AI providers. When both keys are configured, Claude Sonnet is used by default with automatic fallback to OpenAI if the Anthropic call fails.

Anthropic (Recommended)

Option A: CLI Command

nullcommits config set-anthropic-key sk-ant-your-api-key-here

Option B: Environment Variable

export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="sk-ant-your-api-key-here"

OpenAI

Option A: CLI Command

nullcommits config set-key sk-your-api-key-here

Option B: Environment Variable

export OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-your-api-key-here"

Add environment variables to your ~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc, or shell profile to make them permanent.

Config File (Manual)

Create/edit ~/.nullcommitsrc:

{
  "anthropicApiKey": "sk-ant-your-api-key-here",
  "apiKey": "sk-your-openai-key-here"
}

Template Customization

nullcommits uses a template to instruct the AI how to generate commit messages. You can customize this at both global and local (per-project) levels!

Create a global template:

nullcommits init

This creates ~/.nullcommits.template which you can edit freely.

Create a local (project-specific) template:

cp ~/.nullcommits.template .nullcommits.template

Place .nullcommits.template in the root of your repository for project-specific customization.

Template Variables

The template supports these variables that get replaced at runtime:

Variable	Description
{{ORIGINAL_MESSAGE}}	The original commit message you provided
{{DIFF}}	The git diff of staged changes
{{MULTI_LINE_INSTRUCTION}}	Auto-injected when 10+ lines changed

Template Priority

Templates are loaded in this order (highest priority first):

1. Local template - .nullcommits.template in repository root
2. Global template - ~/.nullcommits.template in home directory
3. Bundled default - Built into nullcommits package

This allows you to have a personal default template while overriding it for specific projects that need different formatting.

Diff Budget

nullcommits uses intelligent diff collection to ensure large commits don't exceed API token limits. The diff budget (default: 128K characters) is divided equally among files, with unused budget redistributed to files that need more space.

Configure via CLI:

nullcommits config set-diff-budget 256K

Or via environment variable:

export NULLCOMMITS_DIFF_BUDGET=256000

Or in config file ~/.nullcommitsrc:

{
  "apiKey": "sk-your-api-key-here",
  "diffBudget": 256000
}

Smart Diff Features

• Media file handling: Binary files (images, videos, audio) show only filenames, not diff content
• Budget redistribution: Files with smaller diffs share their unused budget with larger files
• Multi-line commits: When 10+ lines are changed, the AI is instructed to create detailed multi-line commit messages

Supported media extensions (filename only, no diff):

• Images: .png, .gif, .jpg, .jpeg, .webp, .svg, .ico, .bmp, .tiff, .tif, .avif
• Video: .mp4, .mov, .avi, .mkv, .webm, .wmv, .flv, .m4v
• Audio: .mp3, .wav, .ogg, .flac, .aac, .m4a, .wma

Usage

Once installed, just commit as usual:

git add .
git commit -m "fix bug"

nullcommits will automatically enhance your commit message using Claude Sonnet (or GPT-5.4 as fallback). Your simple "fix bug" might become:

🐛 Fix critical authentication bypass vulnerability

Resolved an issue where users could bypass login validation by submitting
empty credentials. Added proper null checks and improved error handling
to ensure all authentication attempts are properly validated.

How It Works

1. You run git commit -m "your message"
2. Git triggers the prepare-commit-msg hook
3. nullcommits reads your message and the staged diff
4. Claude Sonnet (or GPT-5.4 fallback) generates an enhanced message with:
   • Relevant emoji
   • Clear, descriptive summary
   • Explanation of what changed and why
5. The enhanced message replaces your original
6. Commit completes seamlessly

Uninstalling

To remove the hook from a repository:

nullcommits uninstall

To completely remove nullcommits:

npm uninstall -g nullcommits

Requirements

• Node.js 18.0.0 or higher
• Git
• Anthropic API key (recommended) and/or OpenAI API key

Troubleshooting

"No API key found"

Set at least one API key:

• Run: nullcommits config set-anthropic-key YOUR_KEY (recommended)
• Or: nullcommits config set-key YOUR_OPENAI_KEY
• Or set ANTHROPIC_API_KEY / OPENAI_API_KEY environment variable

"Not a git repository"

Run nullcommits install from inside a git repository.

"nullcommits hook is already installed"

The hook is already active in this repository. No action needed!

API errors

• Verify your API key is valid
• Check you have sufficient API quota
• If Anthropic fails, nullcommits will automatically fall back to OpenAI (if configured)

File Locations

File	Purpose
~/.nullcommitsrc	Stores your API keys and diff budget (JSON format)
~/.nullcommits.template	Your global custom template (created by nullcommits init)
.nullcommits.template	Local project-specific template (in repo root)
.git/hooks/prepare-commit-msg	The installed hook (per-repository)

Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Default
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY	Your Anthropic API key (preferred)	-
OPENAI_API_KEY	Your OpenAI API key (fallback)	-
NULLCOMMITS_DIFF_BUDGET	Max characters for diff	128000

License

MIT

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.