Documentation Index Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/shawal-mbalire/dotfiles/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
Overview This Git configuration uses the GitHub CLI (gh) for credential management, sets sensible defaults for performance and usability, and configures Neovim as the default editor.
Configuration Location Main config: ~/.gitconfig (or ~/dot-gitconfig in dotfiles)
Credential Management GitHub CLI handles authentication for GitHub and Gist:
[credential "https://github.com"] helper = !/usr/bin/gh auth git-credential [credential "https://gist.github.com"] helper = helper = !/usr/bin/gh auth git-credential [credential] helper = !gh auth git-credential
Setting Up GitHub CLI Install
Authenticate
Verify
Fedora: Ubuntu/Debian: macOS: Follow prompts to:
Choose GitHub.com or Enterprise
Select HTTPS or SSH
Authenticate via browser or token
Should show: ”✓ Logged in to github.com” Why GitHub CLI?
No password prompts : Automatic token managementTwo-factor auth : Handles 2FA seamlesslyMultiple accounts : Switch between accounts with gh auth switchSSH key management : gh ssh-key commands
User Configuration [user] name = shawal-mbalire email = mbalireshawal@gmail.com
Update with your information:
git config --global user.name "Your Name" git config --global user.email "your.email@example.com"
Editor Configuration Sets Neovim as the default editor for commit messages, interactive rebases, etc.
Alternative Editors # Vim git config --global core.editor vim # VS Code git config --global core.editor "code --wait" # Nano git config --global core.editor nano
HTTP Configuration [http] postBuffer = 524288000 # 500 MB buffer version = HTTP/1.1 lowSpeedLimit = 0 lowSpeedTime = 999999
postBuffer : Increases buffer for large repositories (500 MB)HTTP/1.1 : Uses HTTP/1.1 for better compatibilitylowSpeed settings : Prevents timeout on slow connections
Useful for:
Large repositories with big binary files
Slow or unstable network connections
Pushing large commits
Repository Initialization [init] defaultBranch = main
Sets main as the default branch for new repositories (instead of master).
Useful Aliases Add to ~/.gitconfig for productivity:
[alias] # Status s = status -s st = status # Commit c = commit cm = commit -m ca = commit --amend # Branch b = branch ba = branch -a bd = branch -d # Checkout co = checkout cob = checkout -b # Log l = log --oneline lg = log --graph --oneline --decorate --all last = log -1 HEAD # Diff d = diff ds = diff --staged # Remote p = push pl = pull f = fetch # Reset unstage = reset HEAD -- undo = reset --soft HEAD^ # Stash ss = stash save sl = stash list sp = stash pop
Using Aliases git s # Short status git cm "msg" # Commit with message git lg # Pretty log graph git cob feat # Create and checkout branch git undo # Undo last commit (keep changes)
Additional Recommended Settings Auto-correct Typos [help] autocorrect = 20 # Wait 2 seconds before auto-executing
Example:
$ git pussh WARNING: You called a Git command named 'pussh', which does not exist. Continuing in 2 seconds, assuming you meant 'push'.
Color Output [color] ui = auto branch = auto diff = auto status = auto
Rebase by Default Use git pull --rebase by default for cleaner history.
Default Push Behavior [push] default = current autoSetupRemote = true
Pushes current branch to remote with same name
Automatically sets up remote tracking
[merge] tool = vimdiff conflictstyle = diff3
Or use Neovim:
[merge] tool = nvim [mergetool "nvim"] cmd = nvim -d $LOCAL $REMOTE $MERGED -c '$wincmd w' -c 'wincmd J'
SSH Configuration Prefer SSH over HTTPS:
# Generate SSH key ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "your.email@example.com" # Add to GitHub gh ssh-key add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub # Or manually at https://github.com/settings/keys
Always Use SSH [url "git@github.com:"] insteadOf = https://github.com/
Automatically converts HTTPS URLs to SSH.
Per-Repository Configuration Override global settings in specific repos:
cd ~/work/repo git config user.email "work@company.com" git config core.editor "code --wait"
Settings stored in .git/config (not ~/.gitconfig).
FAQ
Check GitHub CLI status: If logged out: Refresh credentials:
Increase HTTP buffer: [http] postBuffer = 1048576000 # 1 GB
Or switch to SSH: git remote set-url origin git@github.com:user/repo.git
How do I use different email for work repos?
Use conditional includes: # ~/.gitconfig [includeIf "gitdir:~/work/"] path = ~/.gitconfig-work
Create ~/.gitconfig-work: [user] email = work@company.com
How to sign commits with GPG?
Generate GPG key: Add to GitHub: Configure Git: git config --global user.signingkey YOUR_GPG_KEY_ID git config --global commit.gpgsign true
Default branch still 'master'?
Set globally: git config --global init.defaultBranch main
Rename existing branch: git branch -m master main git push -u origin main git push origin --delete master
Complete Example Configuration # ~/.gitconfig [user] name = Your Name email = your.email@example.com [core] editor = nvim autocrlf = input excludesfile = ~/.gitignore_global [init] defaultBranch = main [credential] helper = !gh auth git-credential [credential "https://github.com"] helper = !/usr/bin/gh auth git-credential [credential "https://gist.github.com"] helper = helper = !/usr/bin/gh auth git-credential [http] postBuffer = 524288000 version = HTTP/1.1 [pull] rebase = true [push] default = current autoSetupRemote = true [color] ui = auto [alias] s = status -s cm = commit -m co = checkout cob = checkout -b l = log --oneline lg = log --graph --oneline --decorate --all unstage = reset HEAD -- undo = reset --soft HEAD^
Global Gitignore Create ~/.gitignore_global:
# OS Files .DS_Store Thumbs.db # Editor .vscode/ .idea/ *.swp *.swo *~ # Dependencies node_modules/ vendor/ # Build dist/ build/ *.log
Enable:
git config --global core.excludesfile ~/.gitignore_global