A commit isn’t the same as saving a file. Saving updates your local copy. A commit records a group of changes with a message, an author, and a place in history, the moment you say “save this set of changes as one meaningful step.”
Think about taking a photo of a whiteboard before you keep working. The photo doesn’t stop you from changing things. It gives you a record of what the board looked like, so if the next idea goes badly, you can look back. That’s a commit in git.
How it shows up
When an agent edits a codebase, it may touch several files, and those changes stay loose until they’re committed. A good commit groups related work and carries a message that explains the step: “Fix search filter on mobile,” not “Fix stuff.” If a branch has five commits, you can see the path the work took and inspect the one that went wrong. The log is where those steps show up, the trail of commits with messages, authors, and dates.
Why you care
You don’t need to memorize Git commands, just the operating idea: make a meaningful change, record it clearly, and leave a trail someone else can inspect. Serious work needs a history, not just a final file. Commits are the history.