Supercharge Your Git Commits with OpenCommit and Ollama

3 min read
#git #ai #ollama #productivity #developer-tools

Writing meaningful commit messages is crucial for maintaining a readable project history. OpenCommit automates this process by analyzing your staged changes and generating contextual commit messages using AI. By combining it with Ollama, you can run everything locally without API keys or cloud services.

Benefits of Local AI Commits

Running OpenCommit with Ollama provides several advantages:

  • Complete privacy - Your code never leaves your machine
  • No API keys - No service sign-ups or credential management
  • Zero costs - Generate unlimited commits without usage fees
  • Fast responses - No network latency
  • Offline capability - Works without internet after initial model download

Prerequisites

  • Node.js installed on your system
  • Ollama installed and running (ollama.com)
  • At least one Ollama model downloaded (ollama pull mistral)

Installation

Install OpenCommit globally:

npm install -g opencommit

Configure OpenCommit to use Ollama:

oco config set OCO_AI_PROVIDER='ollama'
oco config set OCO_MODEL='mistral'
oco config set OCO_API_URL='http://localhost:11434/api/chat'
oco config set OCO_GITPUSH=false  # Disable auto-push for more control

Basic Usage

Stage your changes and generate a commit:

git add .
oco

OpenCommit analyzes your staged changes and generates a commit message. You can accept, regenerate, or edit the suggestion.

Skip confirmation for faster workflow:

oco --yes

Model Selection

Different Ollama models offer various performance characteristics:

# List available models
ollama list

# Fast and efficient - recommended for most use cases
oco config set OCO_MODEL='mistral:latest'

# Higher quality, slower generation
oco config set OCO_MODEL='llama3.2:latest'

# Best quality for complex changes
oco config set OCO_MODEL='gemma2:27b'

# Code-specialized model
oco config set OCO_MODEL='devstral:latest'

Configuration Options

GitMoji Support

# Enable emoji prefixes
oco config set OCO_EMOJI=true

# Use full GitMoji specification
oco --fgm

Detailed Descriptions

# Add multi-sentence change descriptions
oco config set OCO_DESCRIPTION=true

Language Settings

# Generate commits in different languages
oco config set OCO_LANGUAGE=es  # Spanish
oco config set OCO_LANGUAGE=fr  # French
oco config set OCO_LANGUAGE=de  # German

Per-Project Configuration

Override global settings with a project-specific .env file:

OCO_AI_PROVIDER=ollama
OCO_MODEL=devstral:latest
OCO_EMOJI=true
OCO_DESCRIPTION=false
OCO_LANGUAGE=en

Useful for maintaining different commit conventions across projects and teams.

Git Hook Integration

Set up OpenCommit as a prepare-commit-msg hook:

# Install hook
oco hook set

# Regular commits now use OpenCommit
git add .
git commit  # Automatically generates message

# Remove hook
oco hook unset

Integrates seamlessly with IDE source control features.

Remote Ollama Configuration

Connect to Ollama running on another machine:

# Configure remote endpoint
oco config set OCO_API_URL='http://192.168.1.100:11434/api/chat'

Useful for leveraging more powerful hardware or sharing an Ollama instance across teams.

Troubleshooting

Verify Ollama Connection

curl http://localhost:11434/api/tags

Model Errors

# Pull model before using
ollama pull mistral
oco config set OCO_MODEL='mistral'

Performance Issues

  • Use smaller models (mistral, phi) for faster generation
  • Verify adequate RAM allocation for Ollama
  • Monitor system resources during generation

Commit Quality

  • Stage meaningful changes before generation
  • Use more capable models for complex diffs
  • Enable descriptions: oco config set OCO_DESCRIPTION=true

Advanced Features

File Exclusions

Create .opencommitignore to exclude files:

*.log
build/
dist/
**/*.min.js

Template Placeholders

# Issue reference
oco '#123: $msg'

# PR reference
oco 'PR-456: $msg'

Configuration Management

# View all settings
oco config describe

# Check specific setting
oco config describe OCO_MODEL

Practical Workflow

Single Commit Workflow

# Review changes
git diff

# Stage and commit
git add src/
oco --yes

# Push when ready
git push

Multi-Commit Feature Development

# Component implementation
git add src/components/
oco --yes

# Test coverage
git add tests/
oco --yes

# Documentation updates
git add README.md
oco --yes

# Review before push
git log --oneline -5
git push

Best Practices

  • Model Selection: Start with mistral for speed, upgrade to larger models as needed
  • Staging Strategy: Stage related changes together for coherent commit messages
  • Review Generated Messages: Always review AI suggestions before committing
  • Project Standards: Use .env files to enforce team commit conventions
  • Security: Keep .opencommitignore updated to exclude sensitive files

Conclusion

OpenCommit with Ollama provides a powerful, privacy-focused solution for generating meaningful commit messages. The combination delivers professional git history without sacrificing code privacy or incurring API costs. Setup takes minutes, and the workflow enhancement is immediate.

Start using oco instead of manual commit messages and watch your git history transform into a searchable, meaningful record of your project’s evolution.