Variable: git-commit-need-summary-line

git-commit-need-summary-line is a buffer-local variable defined in git-commit.el.

Documentation

Whether the text should have a heading that is separated from the body.

For commit messages that is a convention that should not be violated. For notes it is up to the user. If you do not want to insist on an empty second line here, then use something like:

  (add-hook 'git-commit-setup-hook
            (lambda ()
              (when (equal (file-name-nondirectory (buffer-file-name))
                           "NOTES_EDITMSG")
                (setq git-commit-need-summary-line nil))))

Source Code

;; Defined in ~/.emacs.d/elpa/magit-20260411.1452/git-commit.el
;;; Font-Lock

(defvar-local git-commit-need-summary-line t
  "Whether the text should have a heading that is separated from the body.

For commit messages that is a convention that should not
be violated.  For notes it is up to the user.  If you do
not want to insist on an empty second line here, then use
something like:

  (add-hook \\='git-commit-setup-hook
            (lambda ()
              (when (equal (file-name-nondirectory (buffer-file-name))
                           \"NOTES_EDITMSG\")
                (setq git-commit-need-summary-line nil))))")