:bulb: Why I use emojis in my Git commits

We use Emojis every day in different channels like Telegram, Slack, WhatsApp, Google Chats, … They are a fast way to communicate in this visual world. So I use them too in my git commits in the same way.

Around one year ago I started to use them after collaborate in a repo where some colleagues used emojis to give a visual summary of the commits. In my homuilde opinion writing git commit messages is an art that I am not doing well in many cases. Emojis help me to reduce the commit message and also add a visual message for others.

The UI of the most common and extended Git SCM integrates the emojis when you are browsing the repo, and the experience as a user is more clear, visual, fun and easy to follow. I used in different SCM such as:

GitHub: Full integrated .
GitLab: Very well integrated .
Bitbucket: Very bad integration, but my commits have emojis .
Gitea: Enough integration (but I did few commits) .
Gogs: Enough integration (but I did few commits) .

Your repo could have a look and feel similar to:

Nice, right?

So after this time using them, I could conclude that the main reasons to continue is:

Be Cool? Hipster? Not at all
Simple visualization of the status of the repo
Funny documentation and easy to follow (not only in commits)
Simple and direct messages
Can I do it? Go ahead

Top List of emojis

The full list of emojis is so large, but after some time I have a top list of the most common emojis in my daily development.

I could summarize my top list of emojis in:

:tada:: Everything starts with the first commit.
:memo:: Documentation is important in any project.
:sparkles:: Adding new features in your project.
:bug:: Fixing your code … not always is working fine.
:fire:: Removing things.
:bookmark:: Releasing a version
:arrow_down: :arrow_up:: Managing your dependencies versions.
:recycle:: Refactoring code.
:wrench:: Configuring the project.
:twisted_rightwards_arrows:: Merging branches.
:truck:: Moving or renaming resources.
:bulb:: Comments in the source code are always needed
:see_no_evil:: You don’t need to track everything (.gitignore is here)
:wastebasket:: Deprecating or cleaning code

Choose your own ones.

Tools

I know that it is very hard to learn all the emojis available, however there are some useful tools to help you.

From my personal experience, I gitmoji-cli by Carlos Cuesta. This is a simple, and easy CLI to add emojis in your commits. This tool includes helpers, searches to choose the right emoji before your commit or when your are committing:

The git repo has everything you need to start to use it.

Happy committing !!!