Commit and branch templates

Most teams have a commit convention. Most repositories show little evidence of it. Riff closes that gap by moving conventions out of the wiki and into the client, where they are validated at the exact moment someone types.

How it works

Admins define commit-message templates, branch-naming patterns and PR templates centrally in the Gapfy web portal. Every signed-in Riff client picks them up and validates live in the commit and branch forms. Template sets are part of the Pro plan.

Commit message templates

A commit template is a variable form: it defines the shape of the message and which fields are required. When you commit:

  1. Insert the template into the commit message.
  2. Fill in the fields the template asks for.
  3. Watch the validation update as you type. You know the message fits the convention before the commit exists, not after a reviewer complains.

Branch naming patterns

Branch names are validated against regex patterns your admins define. As you type a new branch name, Riff checks it live and tells you immediately whether it matches.

Three severity modes

Admins choose how firmly each convention is enforced:

  • Suggestion: Riff points out the mismatch and stays out of your way.
  • Warning: the mismatch is flagged more firmly, but you can proceed.
  • Blocking: the action button is disabled until the input is valid.

Designed to fail open

A regex written by a human will eventually be wrong. When an admin pattern is invalid, Riff fails open: validation steps aside and developers are never wrongly blocked by a broken rule. Fixing the pattern in the portal restores enforcement, and nobody loses an afternoon to a typo.

PR templates

PR templates are defined in the same central place. When you create a pull request from Riff on a connected provider, the template gives the description your team's agreed structure. See Git hosting integrations.

Commit identity

Commits made from Riff are stamped with your Gapfy name and email, and admins can enforce that identity org-wide. No more history where the same person appears under three different aliases.

Roll out to your organization

  1. In the Gapfy web portal, define your commit template, branch patterns and PR template.
  2. Choose a severity mode. Starting with Suggestion is a gentle way to introduce a new rule; move to Blocking once the team is comfortable with it.
  3. Let the template set sync to every signed-in Riff client through the Gapfy backend, so the whole team validates against the same rules.
  4. Watch adoption on the compliance dashboard, which scores each repository against the convention.

Conventions work best when they are cheap to follow and visible when broken. Riff makes them both.