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[ARTICLE · art-10256] src=dev.to ↗ pub= topic=artificial-intelligence verified=true sentiment=↑ positive

I built a free AI-powered Git CLI that writes your commit messages for you

The article introduces **gritch**, a free, open-source CLI tool built with TypeScript and Node.js that uses Groq's AI API (LLaMA 3.3) to automate Git tasks. It can generate conventional commit messages from staged changes, review code, explain past commits in plain English, and create changelogs between versions. The tool is designed to solve the common developer problem of writing poor commit messages and requires only a free API key from Groq to operate.

read1 min views22 publishedMay 22, 2026

We've all been there. You just spent 3 hours fixing a bug, you stage your changes, and then you stare at the commit message input like it owes you money. You end up typing fix stuff

and moving on.

I got tired of it. So I built gritch.

What is gritch? #

gritch is a free, open source CLI tool that uses Groq's free AI API (LLaMA 3.3) to help you write better commits, review your code before pushing, generate changelogs, and understand old commits all from your terminal.

What it can do #

Generate a conventional commit message from your staged changes:

git add .
gritch commit

Review your code before pushing:

gritch review
gritch review --language javascript

Explain any commit in plain English:

gritch explain abc1234

Generate a changelog between two versions:

gritch changelog v1.0.0 v1.1.0

How to get started #

Install it globally:

npm install -g gritch

Get a free API key from https://console.groq.com and set it:

Windows:

$env:GROQ_API_KEY="your_key_here"

macOS / Linux:

export GROQ_API_KEY="your_key_here"

Then run gritch

in any Git project.

Why I built it #

I wanted to build something that developers actually use daily not another todo app or weather dashboard. gritch solves a real problem I had every single day, and I built it entirely with TypeScript and Node.js with zero paid services required.

If you find it useful, a star on the repo goes a long way. _

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