[edavis]

For the "I want to use different emails for different repos" issue, I've seen the `includeIf` technique but it felt fiddly. What I've done is set `user.useConfigOnly = true` and commented out `user.email` in ~/.gitconfig.

Now the first time I commit in a new repo, it errors out with "Author identity unknown" and I punch in "git config user.email ADDR" for the email I want to use and re-run the commit.

[Garbage]

During my consulting time, I had to do this a lot. So I wrote a blog post for myself on how to do this effectively - https://www.shirishpadalkar.com/using-separate-git-identitie...

[quectophoton]

I also don't like the `includeIf`, but I ended up with a completely different way of doing things.

I just use different accounts depending on the context, usually by either SSH or by starting a Docker container with all the environment already configured.

At least for me, using different identities[1] when I want to use different identities[2], seems less brittle and less likely for my future self to accidentally forget to do something (e.g. change a config when I reinstall an OS).

[1]: OS user, directly (SSH) or indirectly (container).

[2]: Email address, username, etc.

[NewJazz]

Huh. How many repos do you have? And how many emails? I have... A lot of repos. And two emails.

[thfuran]

Two is still more than one, and it seems reasonable to, for example, keep work separate from personal stuff.

[NewJazz]

Yeah, but the includeIf solution has me typing my emails once each, rather than once each for something like 100+ repos.

[gcarvalho]

I occasionally clone repos into /tmp for some small tweaks without switching branches or whatever, and that’s usually when I commit with the wrong email. Neither includeIf nor useConfigOnly are ideal in this scenario because a) it’s cloned in a generic location that can’t be differentiated using path-based includeIf, or b) manually setting it multiple times for the same repo is even more annoying.

I’ve tried conditionally setting email based on the remote [1], but for some reason I did not manage to make it work. I didn’t try too hard, and I might try again with more patience.

[1] https://www.brantonboehm.com/code/conditional-git-config/

[letompouce]

I mostly use `ghq` to clone repositories (and have a few `fzf` aliases based on that, like `ghqcd` to `cd` to some repo)

    [ghq] # https://github.com/x-motemen/ghq#configuration
        root = ~/dev

Sometimes, from my personal machine, I need to check something work-related ; then on my personal machine, I checkout in `~/dev/myorganization/`. Inversely, it happens sometimes that at work I need something I wrote for myself ; then on my work machine, I checkout in `~/dev/myusername/`.

This allows me to use `gitdir:` rules that handle anything `~/dev`, and I have fallbacks for everything else (who never checkouts in `tmp`?).

    #
    # Superman vs Clark Kent
    #
    # Debug Includes with: git config --list --show-origin

    # the default identity, for checkouts outside of `~/dev`
    [include]
        path = ~/.config/git/gitconfig-default

    # on my work machine, this defines Clark Kent ; on my personal machine, this defines Superman (or is  it the reverse?)
    # this one is not commited in my dotfiles
    [include]
        path = ~/.config/git/gitconfig-local

    # work-related repos on personal machine
    [includeIf "gitdir:/home/myusername/dev/myorganization/"]
        path = ~/.config/git/gitconfig-myorganization
    [includeIf "gitdir:/home/myusername/dev/gitlab.com/myorganization/"]
        path = ~/.config/git/gitconfig-myorganization

    # personal repos on my work machine
    [includeIf "gitdir:/home/myusername/dev/myusername/"]
        path = ~/.config/git/gitconfig-myusername
    [includeIf "gitdir:/home/myusername/dev/gitlab.com/myusername-namespace/"]
        path = ~/.config/git/gitconfig-myusername

This works nicely since years^W `includeIf` was a thing.

However, there are situations at work where I'm on a server where I didn't created `~/.config/git/gitconfig-local` (which is a manual step I always forget) and any commit from `/usr/local/src/something/` will end up configured with Superman identity.

I found out about `hasconfig:` some time ago, and took note of it for when the option would hit `git` from Debian Stable ; your comment comes the day after I accidentaly commited as Superman on some work repo checked outside of `~/dev/`. Time to add more rules!