Git: Changing your last commit message

If you use Git regularly, then you've surely already created a commit containing a spelling mistake, or with a message that doesn't really match the changes made...

If that's the case, you'll see that editing the message of your last commit is child's play!

How do you do it?

The command below will let you simply edit the last commit message, in a text editing interface right inside your terminal:

$ git commit --amend

If you need to edit the last X commits, then I'd recommend undoing them so you can recreate them, the whole process is explained in this previous article:

If the commit has already been pushed to the remote repository

A simple Git push wouldn't be enough to refresh the new commit message, because the project's history has been modified outside of Git's usual cycle.

You'll therefore need to add a "--force-with-lease" parameter, which will let you force the update, without impacting subsequent commits if they're already present.

$ git push --force-with-lease