`git config` Read and set Git settings such as your name and email

Reads and writes Git settings. The first thing to set on a new machine is your name and email, which are stamped on every commit you make.

Synopsis

git config [--global | --local] KEY [VALUE]
git config --list [--show-origin]

Option or form	What it does
`--global`	Apply to every repository for your user account (stored in ~/.gitconfig)
`--local`	Apply to the current repository only. This is the default when you set a value
`--list, -l`	Show every setting Git can see
`--unset KEY`	Remove a setting
`--show-origin`	With --list, show which file each setting comes from
`-e`	Open the config file in your editor

Set your identity once

git config --global user.name "Ana Lopez"

Set your email

git config --global user.email [email protected]

Start new repositories on main

git config --global init.defaultBranch main

Make a short alias

git config --global alias.st "status -sb"

See where a setting comes from

git config --show-origin user.email

file:/home/ana/.gitconfig	[email protected]

A local value overrides a global one, so you can use a work email in one repository and a personal one elsewhere.
The email must match one on your GitHub account if you want commits linked to your profile.
Run git config --list to check the current values before debugging odd behaviour.