Git Commit Information and Configuration

to run when given pathnames (but see `-i` option). COMMIT INFORMATION ------------------ Author and committer information is taken from the following environment variables, if set: * `GIT_AUTHOR_NAME` * `GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL` * `GIT_AUTHOR_DATE` * `GIT_COMMITTER_NAME` * `GIT_COMMITTER_EMAIL` * `GIT_COMMITTER_DATE` (nb "<", ">" and "\n"s are stripped) The author and committer names are by convention some form of a personal name (that is, the name by which other humans refer to you), although Git does not enforce or require any particular form. Arbitrary Unicode may be used, subject to the constraints listed above. This name has no effect on authentication; for that, see the `credential.username` variable in linkgit:git-config[1]. In case (some of) these environment variables are not set, the information is taken from the configuration items `user.name` and `user.email`, or, if not present, the environment variable `EMAIL`, or, if that is not set, system user name and the hostname used for outgoing mail (taken from `/etc/mailname` and falling back to the fully qualified hostname when that file does not exist). The `author.name` and `committer.name` and their corresponding email options override `user.name` and `user.email` if set and are overridden themselves by the environment variables. The typical usage is to set just the `user.name` and `user.email` variables; the other options are provided for more complex use cases. :git-commit: 1 include::date-formats.adoc[] DISCUSSION ---------- Though not required, it's a good idea to begin the commit message with a single short (no more than 50 characters) line summarizing the change, followed by a blank line and then a more thorough description. The text up to the first blank line in a commit message is treated as the commit title, and that title is used throughout Git. For example, linkgit:git-format-patch[1] turns a commit into email, and it uses the title on the Subject line and the rest of the commit in the body. include::i18n.adoc[] ENVIRONMENT AND CONFIGURATION VARIABLES --------------------------------------- The editor used to edit the commit log message will be chosen from the `GIT_EDITOR` environment variable, the `core.editor` configuration variable, the `VISUAL` environment variable, or the `EDITOR` environment variable (in that order). See linkgit:git-var[1] for details. include::includes/cmd-config-section-rest.adoc[] include::config/commit.adoc[] HOOKS ----- This command can run `commit-msg`, `prepare-commit-msg`, `pre-commit`, `post-commit` and `post-rewrite` hooks. See linkgit:githooks[5] for more information. FILES ----- `$GIT_DIR/COMMIT_EDITMSG`:: This file contains the commit message of a commit in progress. If `git commit` exits due to an error before creating a commit, any commit message that has been provided by the user (e.g., in an editor session) will be available in this file, but will be overwritten by the next invocation of `git commit`. SEE ALSO -------- linkgit:git-add[1], linkgit:git-rm[1], linkgit:git-mv[1], linkgit:git-merge[1], linkgit:git-commit-tree[1] GIT --- Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite

Git commit information, such as author and committer names and emails, can be set through environment variables or configuration items, and commit messages should follow a specific format, with optional hooks and files like COMMIT_EDITMSG playing a role in the commit process.