It's called the Imperative Mood[0]. I like to think of it as though I'm completing this statement: "If you apply this patch, this commit will [Do The Thing™]". Here's a few examples:
If I were to apply this patch, this commit will…
- Simplify FooWidget
- Add optional table support
- Remove trailing whitespace
- Update fizzbuzz to 1.2.0
- Merge branch 'feature/ABC-123-foobar'
- Revert "Add foo to bar"