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Git Configuration (git config)

git config is the command you use to tell Git about yourself, your preferences, and your aliases. Settings can apply at three levels: system-wide, per-user, or per-repository. Understanding these three levels and where they live on disk turns Git from a rigid tool into one tailored to how you actually work.

The three config levels

Level	Scope	File location	Flag
system	All users on this machine	/etc/gitconfig (Linux/macOS) or Program Files\Git\etc\gitconfig (Windows)	--system
global	All repos for the current user	~/.gitconfig or ~/.config/git/config	--global
local	The current repository only	.git/config inside the repo	--local (default)

Lower levels override higher ones — a setting in local overrides the same setting in global, which overrides system. So you can set a sensible default globally and override it for one specific project.

The essential first-time setup

Minimum config for a new machine

Bash

# Identity — every commit is tagged with these
git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "you@example.com"

# Default branch name for new repos
git config --global init.defaultBranch main

# Editor used for commit messages
git config --global core.editor "code --wait"   # VS Code
# Or: "nano" / "vim" / "subl -w" / "atom --wait"

# Default 'pull' behaviour — explicit merge
git config --global pull.rebase false

Inspecting your config

See what's set

Bash

# List every effective setting and where it comes from
git config --list --show-origin

# Just see a single value
git config user.email

# What is set at each level?
git config --system --list
git config --global --list
git config --local  --list   # must be inside a repo

Setting and unsetting

Set and remove settings

Bash

# Set a value
git config --global core.pager "less -FRX"

# Add another value to a multi-valued setting
git config --global --add safe.directory "/path/to/repo"

# Remove a setting
git config --global --unset core.pager

# Open the config file in your editor for bulk edits
git config --global --edit

Useful settings you probably want

Quality-of-life defaults

Bash

# Coloured output
git config --global color.ui auto

# Better diff algorithm
git config --global diff.algorithm histogram

# Push only the current branch
git config --global push.default current

# When pushing a new branch, also set it up to track upstream
git config --global push.autoSetupRemote true

# Reuse recorded merge resolutions (saves you on repeated rebases)
git config --global rerere.enabled true

# Prune deleted remote branches on fetch
git config --global fetch.prune true

# Sort branches by most recently used
git config --global branch.sort -committerdate

# Show file changes in 'git log -p' more cleanly
git config --global diff.renames true

Cross-platform: line endings

core.autocrlf

Bash

# Windows — convert CRLF in working tree, LF in repo
git config --global core.autocrlf true

# macOS / Linux — never write CRLF in repo
git config --global core.autocrlf input

# Don't convert at all (use .gitattributes instead)
git config --global core.autocrlf false

Credentials and authentication

Credential helpers

Bash

# Cache credentials in memory for 15 minutes
git config --global credential.helper cache

# Cache for a custom duration (here: 1 hour)
git config --global credential.helper "cache --timeout=3600"

# Use the OS keychain (recommended)
# macOS:
git config --global credential.helper osxkeychain
# Windows:
git config --global credential.helper manager
# Linux (GNOME):
git config --global credential.helper "/usr/share/doc/git/contrib/credential/libsecret/git-credential-libsecret"

Aliases (short for long commands)

Common aliases

Bash

git config --global alias.st status
git config --global alias.co checkout
git config --global alias.br branch
git config --global alias.ci commit
git config --global alias.lg "log --oneline --graph --decorate --all"
git config --global alias.unstage "reset HEAD --"
git config --global alias.last "log -1 HEAD"

# Now you can type:
git st
git lg
git last

Per-project overrides

Sometimes a single repository needs different settings — for example, you use a work email at the office and a personal email for open source.

Override the global email for one repo

Bash

cd ~/work/big-corp-project
git config user.email "you@bigcorp.com"
# This writes to .git/config inside the repo
# Outside this repo, your global email is still used

Conditional includes

Git can include different config files based on path. Useful if all your work repos live under ~/work and personal under ~/personal:

~/.gitconfig

Text

[user]
    name = Your Name
    email = personal@example.com

[includeIf "gitdir:~/work/"]
    path = ~/.gitconfig-work

[includeIf "gitdir:~/personal/"]
    path = ~/.gitconfig-personal

~/.gitconfig-work

Text

[user]
    email = you@bigcorp.com
    signingkey = ABCD1234EFGH5678

The raw file format

Git config files are plain INI:

Example ~/.gitconfig

Text

[user]
    name = Your Name
    email = you@example.com

[core]
    editor = code --wait
    autocrlf = input

[init]
    defaultBranch = main

[alias]
    st = status
    co = checkout
    lg = log --oneline --graph --decorate --all

You can edit this file directly in your favourite editor. git config is just a convenience wrapper that writes the same format.

Where is my global config?

Most systems use ~/.gitconfig. Some XDG-respecting systems use ~/.config/git/config. Run git config --global --edit — it opens whichever one Git is actually reading.

Warning

Never commit a `.gitconfig` with credentials, signing keys, or emails you do not want public. Keep that data in your home directory, not inside repositories.

Tip

After you set up a new machine, write your favourite settings into a `dotfiles` repository on GitHub. Then on every new computer you can pull and symlink your config in one minute.