My git configuration

2025-02-26

Some people prefer to adhere to configuration defaults. I agree with this to some extent; I generally prefer to use the original command rather than create an alias for it. That said, there are some tweaks that can make your Git experience a lot better.

I've compiled a list of my favourite git configuration options, and their explanations. Feel free to give them a try, or don't... Up to you!

Gitconfig

Basics

Pull should be in rebase mode by default.

git config --global pull.rebase true

If you push, and the remote branch doesn't exist, it should just create it.

git config --global push.autoSetupRemote true

Set default editor

I can't use Nano. Vi doesn't render text for me correctly through Tmux, and I never bothered to install Vim. So NeoVim it is.

git config --global core.editor "nvim"

Set the default branch as main

This ensures that main is the default branch when you git init a new repository locally, because most Git remotes use main as the default.

git config --global init.defaultBranch main

Show change diff in commit message editor

This is handy. When you commit, it will show a diff of changes. Scrolling through is an excellent reminder of what I need to list out in the body of the commit.

git config --global commit.verbose true

Use YYYY-MM-DD dates

ISO 8601 is the most common date format software developers are familar with. I have no idea why Git by default uses another format.

git config --global log.date iso

Stash changes before a rebase, then apply them back after

This change essentially lets you rebase from a dirty working directory. Very handy because in addition to saving you time, ensures you won't forget to git stash apply.

git config --global rebase.autoStash true

Use Git SSH URLs instead of HTTPS URLs

Sometimes when copying a Git repository URL from GitHub, it defaults to the HTTPS URL, which does not work with my SSH keys.

git config --global url."git@github.com:".insteadOf "https://github.com/"

Automatically clean up deleted remote branches

This deletes branches locally that have been deleted on the remote. Nobody should be forced to live with everyone's rubbish!

git config --global fetch.prune true

Fix mistyped commands

Because Git knows what you meant.

git config --global help.autocorrect prompt

Auto-squash fixup commits

A fixup commit, is a way to mark a commit as a fixup of a previous commit, upon making it. While you could just amend a commit, I find fixup commits helpful in case I need to reset to a previous one.

git config --global rebase.autoSquash true

# Mark a certain commit as a fixup commit
git commit --fixup c8ee3f5

Git aliases

git config --global alias.o "log --oneline"
git config --global alias.adog "log --all --decorate --oneline --graph"

LazyGit fix

Git tags do not work in LazyGit if GPG signing for them is enabled

git config --global tag.gpgsign false

Git commit message

You can add a custom git commit message to keep your messages on track.

git config --global commit.template ~/.gitmessage

I added a 50-character measuring tape, template and rough guide for conventional commits, and URLs to further reading on Git messages and semantic versioning.

# -----------------------------------------------| < 50 chars length
# <type>[optional scope]: <description>
#
# [optional body]
#
# [optional footer(s)]

This is very helpful for keeping my commit messages consistent and helpful, and ensuring I don't have to double back and re-edit them later.

You can see my full .gitmessage file here. Feel free to steal it, I won't mind!

Git hooks

You can globally specify a directory for git hooks, so that you can add behaviour to git.

git config --global core.hooksPath ~/.git-hooks

Guard main branch

I like to protect against pushes to shared branches, there usually isn't a very good reason for me to be doing this.

#!/bin/bash
# Filename: ~/.git-hooks/pre-push
BRANCH=`git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD`

if [[ "$BRANCH" =~ ^(master|main|staging|development|feature|testing)$ ]]; then
  echo
  echo "Prevented push to $BRANCH."
  echo "If you really want to do this, use --no-verify to bypass this pre-push hook."
  echo
  exit 1
fi

exit 0

Git guard script

I've written a script that I add to my .zshrc that intercepts the execution of git and checks whether I'm using a command I'm trying to unlearn, then prompts me to use the preferred command.

You can see the full script here.

Here is an example of how it works:

luke@macbook ~/github.com/lkdm/blog (main) $ git checkout
Don't use checkout; use switch or restore.
Consider using 'git switch' instead.
Using 'git switch' is safer and more predictable for switching branches, while 'git restore' is better for discarding changes.
Do you still want to proceed? (y/N)

Here are some of the behaviours I'm trying to unlearn:

git push origin --force

This one has bitten me. --force will just overwrite whatever is on remote with what is on my branch. Instead, it's better to use --force-with-lease which first checks whether the remote has changed.

git checkout

A, in my opinion, better alternative to git checkout is to use git switch to deal with commits and branches, and git restore to deal with files.

The commit that introduced the change specifies the rationale:

"git checkout" doing too many things is a source of confusion for many users (and it even bites old timers sometimes). To remedy that, the command will be split into two new ones: switch and restore. The good old "git checkout" command is still here and will be until all (or most of users) are sick of it.

While the stated goal of the change is to reduce confusion, the interface for dealing with git switch is much better:

• --detach is always required when switching to a detached head, whereas it was previously optional.
• When using checkout with --force, you can switch branches while in the middle of a merge. You can't do this with switch.

You are less likely to encounter a footgun while using git stash.

git commit -m

Using the -v flag is much better, because it opens the commit editor in my chosen editor (nvim), shows a diff of all changes, and also shows my commit template message. Since using -v, I never forget the correct commit message convention, or forget to list any of the changes I've made.