PyCharm/IntelliJ edit only a commit message

John D K -

If you need to change/amend your commit message in PyCharm/IntelliJ before pushing it then you have several options:

My preferred way of changing commit message is the soft reset of the current branch. Depending on the situation I can use other way.

Amend commit

The officially recommended way of amending commit messages in PyCharm/IntelliJ.

  • Main menu
  • VCS
  • Commit - CTRL + K
  • Check Amend Commit
  • Amend the Commit Message
  • Do new change for commit
  • Add new commit message
  • Commit

From Jetbrains:

From VCS select Commit Changes, then tick Amend commit", select a new change to be committed and add new commit message (to replace the one of the previous commit). Finally, select Commit.

Undo commit

This one can be used if you want to change not only the message but also the files and the code:

  • Open Version Control Tab - ALT + 9
  • Open Tab Log
  • Right click the current commit
  • Undo Commit
  • Change the commit message

Reword

Most probably this is the closest one to simple changing the last commit message:

  • Open Version Control Tab - ALT + 9
  • Open Tab Log
  • Right click the current commit
  • Reword ..
  • Change the commit message

Reset Current Branch

This is like soft undo commit where the files are staged for commit again. Then you can simply commit with new message

  • Open Version Control Tab - ALT + 9
  • Open Tab Log
  • Right click the previous commit
  • Reset Current Branch to Here...
  • Select Soft - Files won't change, differences will be staged for commit
  • Commit the files
  • Change the message

Git command

If you prefer to use the command line you can always do. Open tab terminal and run ALT + F12:

git commit --amend