# Commit Message Standards · QUAL-04

## Standard Metadata

- Area: Quality
- Owner: Technical Leadership group
- Last reviewed: 2026-09-09
- Next review due from: 2026-12-01
- Enforcement: Code review
- Status: Active

## Conventional Commits must be used for commit messages · QUAL-04.1 · **MUST** · **DEV/TEST**

Commit messages must follow the [Conventional Commits](https://www.conventionalcommits.org/en/v1.0.0/) specification.

It is **strongly recommended** that projects at least use _types_ from the specification to communicate the main purpose of the commit, e.g.:

- `feat:` for new features
- `fix:` for bug fixes
- `docs:` for documentation changes
- `refactor:` for refactoring
- etc. (any type from the specification can be used)

Projects can optionally go beyond just using the _type_ and follow the full specification, which includes additional features such as:

- Including a scope after the type, e.g. the scope `api` after a feature would be `feat(api):`
- Communicating breaking changes by appending a `!` after the type/scope, e.g. `feat!:`
- Including a footer

## Commit messages must including work item number · QUAL-04.2 · **MUST** · **DEV/TEST**

The work item number (e.g. PBI or Bug) must be added to the end of the commit message. For example:
`fix: added phone number validation #xxxx`, where `#xxxx` is the card related to the commit