Commitly (cly)

AI-powered git commit message generator — a single static Go binary with provider freedom. Point it at any OpenAI-compatible or Anthropic-compatible endpoint (cloud or self-hosted), or pick a built-in preset. No Node, no Python, no vendor lock-in.

Port of opencommit. See Credits.

Features

• Generates Conventional Commits messages from your staged diff.
• Works with any OpenAI- or Anthropic-compatible API, plus presets for OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, Ollama, and Groq.
• Interactive review: spinner, colored preview, and a confirm / edit / regenerate / cancel menu.
• Optional emoji/gitmoji, one-line mode, body description, and custom prompt templates.
• prepare-commit-msg git hook, model picker, and commitlint rule injection.
• Single YAML config at ~/.commitly.yaml with CLY_-prefixed env overrides.

Install

# From source (requires Go)
go install github.com/pocikode/commitly@latest

# Or build locally
make build      # produces ./bin/cly

Prebuilt binaries for Linux/macOS/Windows are attached to each GitHub Release.

Quick start

# 1. Configure a provider (interactive profile manager)
cly config

# ...or set values directly
cly config set ai_provider=openai api_key=sk-... model=gpt-4o

# 2. Stage changes and generate a commit
git add .
cly

Bare cly is an alias for cly commit.

Commands

Command	Description
cly / cly commit	Generate a commit message from staged changes and commit.
cly config	Interactive profile manager (no args): list, add, edit, delete, switch profiles.
cly config get <KEY>...	Print config values (api_key is redacted).
cly config set <KEY>=<VALUE>...	Set and persist config values.
cly config profiles (alias list)	List saved provider/model profiles; * marks active.
cly config use <NAME>	Switch the active profile.
cly models [--set <model>]	List models for the active provider; select and persist.
cly hook set / cly hook unset	Install/remove the prepare-commit-msg hook.
cly commitlint	Show commitlint rules and enable rule injection.
cly --version / cly --help	Version and help.

Global flags: --yes/-y (auto-confirm, non-interactive) and --config <path> (override config file).

Configuration

Config lives at ~/.commitly.yaml (override with CLY_CONFIG_PATH or --config). A project-local .commitly.yaml in the repo root overrides the global file. Precedence, highest to lowest:

command-line flag → environment variable → project config → global config → built-in default

Each YAML key maps to a CLY_-prefixed env var.

YAML key	Env var	Default	Notes
ai_provider	CLY_AI_PROVIDER	openai	Preset name or custom.
provider_type	CLY_PROVIDER_TYPE	openai_compatible	openai_compatible or anthropic_compatible.
api_key	CLY_API_KEY	—	Redacted in output; never logged.
api_url	CLY_API_URL	https://api.openai.com/v1	Falls back to the preset URL if empty.
model	CLY_MODEL	gpt-4o-mini
active_profile	CLY_ACTIVE_PROFILE	—	Name of the profile whose provider fields are applied.
profiles	—	—	Map of named provider/model bundles (managed by cly config).
api_custom_headers	CLY_API_CUSTOM_HEADERS	{}	JSON object of extra headers.
proxy	CLY_PROXY	—	HTTP(S) proxy URL.
tokens_max_input	CLY_TOKENS_MAX_INPUT	40960	Diff is budget-fitted to this.
tokens_max_output	CLY_TOKENS_MAX_OUTPUT	4096
description	CLY_DESCRIPTION	false	Add a body explaining WHY.
emoji	CLY_EMOJI	false	Gitmoji prefix.
omit_scope	CLY_OMIT_SCOPE	false	Use <type>: <subject>.
one_line_commit	CLY_ONE_LINE_COMMIT	false	Collapse to one line.
gitpush	CLY_GITPUSH	false	Offer to push after commit.
message_template_placeholder	CLY_MESSAGE_TEMPLATE_PLACEHOLDER	$msg	Placeholder for hook templating.
prompt_module	CLY_PROMPT_MODULE	conventional-commit	@commitlint, or a path to a prompt file.
hook_auto_uncomment	CLY_HOOK_AUTO_UNCOMMENT	false	Drop template comment lines in the hook.

Example ~/.commitly.yaml

ai_provider: openai
provider_type: openai_compatible
api_url: https://api.openai.com/v1
api_key: sk-...
model: gpt-4o-mini
tokens_max_input: 40960
tokens_max_output: 4096
emoji: false
gitpush: false

# Multiple provider/model setups; active_profile selects one.
active_profile: openai-work
profiles:
  openai-work:
    ai_provider: openai
    provider_type: openai_compatible
    api_url: https://api.openai.com/v1
    api_key: sk-...
    model: gpt-4o
  ollama-local:
    ai_provider: ollama
    provider_type: openai_compatible
    api_url: http://localhost:11434/v1
    model: qwen2.5-coder

Profiles

A profile is a named bundle of provider/model credentials (ai_provider, provider_type, api_url, api_key, model). Define several and switch between them — e.g. a cloud model for work and a local Ollama model offline.

Run cly config (no args) for the interactive manager:

✨ Commitly Profiles
╭───────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│      claude (anthropic/claude-3-5-sonnet-latest)  │
│  > * ollama-local (ollama/llama3.1)               │
│      openai-work (openai/gpt-4o)                   │
╰───────────────────────────────────────────────────╯
  [a]dd  [e]dit  [d]elete  [enter]use  [q]uit

• ↑/↓ (or j/k) move, * marks the active profile
• a add a new profile, e edit selected, d delete selected
• enter activate the selected profile, q quit

The active profile's fields overlay the top-level provider settings when a commit runs. Switch non-interactively too:

cly config profiles          # list, * marks active
cly config use ollama-local  # set active profile
CLY_ACTIVE_PROFILE=claude cly commit   # per-run override

Profile selection precedence: CLY_ACTIVE_PROFILE env → active_profile in the config file. An unknown name falls back to the file's active profile. Per-key env/flags (e.g. CLY_MODEL) still win over the profile.

Providers

Presets

cly config set ai_provider=openai    model=gpt-4o
cly config set ai_provider=anthropic provider_type=anthropic_compatible model=claude-3-5-sonnet-latest
cly config set ai_provider=groq      model=llama-3.3-70b-versatile

Self-hosted / custom endpoint (e.g. Ollama, vLLM, LM Studio)

Any OpenAI-compatible server works — just set api_url:

cly config set ai_provider=ollama api_url=http://localhost:11434/v1 model=qwen2.5-coder

Custom headers and proxy:

cly config set api_custom_headers='{"X-Org":"acme"}' proxy=http://localhost:8080

Git hook

cly hook set     # install prepare-commit-msg
git commit       # message is generated automatically
cly hook unset   # remove it (only removes the cly-owned hook)

The hook generates non-interactively and degrades gracefully: if generation fails it warns and leaves your commit unblocked.

Commitlint

cly config set prompt_module=@commitlint
cly commitlint   # view the injected rules

When enabled, a simplified Conventional-Commits rule set is appended to the prompt so generated messages pass typical commit linting.

Development

make test         # run tests
make cover-check  # enforce >= 80% coverage
make build        # build ./bin/cly
make smoke        # build + run --version/--help

Credits

Port of opencommit by @di-sukharev and contributors. Prompt design and command surface follow the original.

License

MIT — see LICENSE. © 2026 Agus Supriyatna.