body-separator

A deny rule by default: it refuses a commit body that starts on the line after the subject.

What it catches

A commit body that starts on the line after the subject.

Dimension

structure: the reader has to reconstruct the order or the purpose. A finding is counted on the dimension of its rule, the cost it names to the reader.

Why

Git, and every tool built on it, takes the first paragraph as the subject; with no blank line the body joins it and a one-line log shows both. A message that is a subject and trailers ("Key: value" lines) is left alone. None of the 1729 commit messages on main runs the body into the subject.

Default decision

The code is PRF1013. The decision depends on the kind of text judged:

Changing it

A decisions table sets this rule to deny, advise or off, for everything judged or for the files a glob matches. Proofread reads the table from the file its -decisions flag names:

{
  "rules": {"body-separator": "advise"},
  "paths": {"blog/**": {"body-separator": "off"}}
}

rules applies to every file. A glob in paths applies to the files it matches, and the last match wins. A rule set to off never reports.

Seeing it

A finding names the rule, its code and the decision that applies, and links here:

{"rule": "body-separator", "code": "PRF1013", "decision": "deny", "url": "https://eli.gladman.cc/magus/reference/proofread/body-separator/"}

proofread rules prints this entry with every other rule's.

See also

• All proofread rules - every rule, grouped by what it checks
• Writing rules - how the rules apply to this repository's pages and pull requests
• The findings contract - the fields every finding carries