gyti - AI Git Commit Messages

Installation

Get started with Gyti in two simple steps:

1. Install globally:

npm install -g gyti

2. Run setup (configures everything automatically):

gyti setup

✓ That's it! You're ready to go.

The setup command will configure Gyti, authenticate you, and install the Git hook automatically. You can now use git commit as usual and Gyti will generate your commit messages.

What does gyti setup do?

The setup command guides you through:

Choosing between Gyti Backend (recommended) or Self-hosted mode
Authenticating with your account (if using Gyti Backend)
Installing the Git hook globally (works for all your repositories)

On first run, Gyti will automatically prompt you to run setup if you haven't configured it yet.

Development

If you're developing or modifying the CLI, you need to rebuild after making changes:

cd ~/gyti/cli

npm run build

npm link --force

gyti install # Reinstall hook if needed

This rebuilds the TypeScript code and updates the globally linked command.

Usage

Once installed, just commit as usual. The tool will automatically generate or enhance your commit message:

git add .

git commit

You can also use git commit -m "." and the tool will replace it with a generated message.

Dry Run

Test the message generation without committing:

gyti generate

Configuration

View Current Configuration

Check your current settings:

gyti config

Backend URL

Set the backend API URL (default: https://www.gyti.ai/api):

gyti config --backend-url https://www.gyti.ai/api

# Production (default)

gyti config --backend-url http://localhost:3000/api

# Local development

API Key

Set your API key for authentication (if required by your backend):

gyti config --api-key your-api-key-here

Your API key is stored securely in your system's config directory.

Verbose Output

Enable or disable verbose logging:

# Enable verbose mode

gyti config --verbose

# Disable verbose mode

gyti config --no-verbose

Skip AI Generation

Skip AI generation globally (useful for testing or when you want to write messages manually):

# Skip AI by default

gyti config --skip-ai

# Re-enable AI generation

gyti config --no-skip-ai

Interactive Refinement

Enable or disable interactive refinement of commit messages (enabled by default):

# Disable interactive refinement

gyti config --no-interactive

# Re-enable interactive refinement

gyti config --interactive

Authentication

When using the Gyti backend, you need to authenticate with your account:

Login

Authenticate with email/password or OAuth (GitHub, Google):

gyti login

This will open your browser for authentication. Press Enter when prompted to open the browser.

Logout

Sign out and clear authentication tokens:

gyti logout

Environment Variables

You can also configure Gyti using environment variables:

GYTI_SKIP=true

Skip AI generation for a specific commit. Useful for one-off commits.

GYTI_SKIP=true git commit

GYTI_VERBOSE=true

Enable verbose output for debugging. Shows detailed error messages and generation status.

GIT_GYTI_SKIP=true

Alternative environment variable name for skipping AI generation.

Backend Setup

Gyti requires a backend API to generate commit messages. You can use the provided Next.js backend or set up your own.

Using the Default Backend

Start the Next.js backend server:

cd web

npm install

echo "OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-..." > .env.local

npm run dev

The backend will run on http://localhost:3000 by default.

Self-Hosted Mode

You can use your own AI provider instead of the Gyti backend. Run setup and choose "Self-hosted":

gyti setup

Supported providers:

OpenAI (GPT models)
Anthropic (Claude models)
Ollama (Local models)
Groq
Together AI
Custom OpenAI-compatible APIs

Troubleshooting

Hook not running?

Make sure you ran gyti install in your repository.

gyti install

API connection errors?

Check your backend URL and ensure the server is running:

gyti config

# Check current backend URL

curl http://localhost:3000/api/commits/generate

# Test backend connectivity

Timeout issues?

The tool automatically retries failed requests. If timeouts persist:

Check your network connection
Verify your backend is responding
Enable verbose mode for detailed error messages: GYTI_VERBOSE=true git commit

Uninstall the hook

To remove Gyti from a repository:

rm .git/hooks/prepare-commit-msg

Examples

Basic Workflow

# Stage your changes

git add src/components/Button.tsx

# Commit (Gyti will generate message)