Global Git Config¶

Source: hooks/ways/workstation/shell/gitconfig/gitconfig.md

Frontmatter

Field	Value
`description`	global git configuration — identity, default branch, pull strategy, delta pager, credential helper, global gitignore
`vocabulary`	`gitconfig global identity user.name user.email pull.rebase init.defaultBranch credential helper libsecret keychain delta pager core.pager gitignore push.autoSetupRemote`
`commands`	`git\ config\ --global`
`files`	`/.gitconfig$\|/.config/git/config$\|/.gitignore_global$`
`refire`	`0.15`
`scope`	`agent`

~/.gitconfig is the user-level git identity and preferences file. Set once per machine, inherited by every repo unless overridden locally. Most of these are cheap defaults that prevent future papercuts.

Identity¶

git config --global user.name "Full Name"
git config --global user.email "user@example.com"

Ask the user for both. If they commit to multiple identities (personal vs work), mention conditional includes ([includeIf "gitdir:~/work/"]) — but only set that up when they confirm the split.

Modern defaults¶

git config --global init.defaultBranch main
git config --global pull.rebase true           # linear history on pull
git config --global push.autoSetupRemote true  # no more "--set-upstream" dance
git config --global push.default current
git config --global fetch.prune true           # delete refs for gone branches
git config --global rebase.autostash true      # stash/pop around rebase

delta is installed as part of the modern CLI set (see workstation/shell/tools). Wire it into git:

git config --global core.pager delta
git config --global interactive.diffFilter "delta --color-only"
git config --global delta.navigate true
git config --global delta.line-numbers true
git config --global merge.conflictstyle diff3

Credential helper (OS-specific)¶

OS	Command
macOS	`git config --global credential.helper osxkeychain`
Linux (GNOME)	`git config --global credential.helper /usr/lib/git-core/git-credential-libsecret`
Linux (generic)	`git config --global credential.helper "cache --timeout=3600"`
Windows	`git config --global credential.helper manager`

For push via SSH, no helper is needed — keys live in ssh-agent (see workstation/shell/sshagent).

Global gitignore¶

git config --global core.excludesfile ~/.gitignore_global

Sensible starter for ~/.gitignore_global:

# OS
.DS_Store
Thumbs.db
Desktop.ini

# Editors
*.swp
*.swo
.idea/
.vscode/
*.sublime-workspace

# Python
__pycache__/
*.pyc
.venv/

# Direnv
.envrc

Keep project-specific ignores in per-project .gitignore — the global one is for noise that's never relevant anywhere.

Verify¶

git config --list --global        # full dump
git config --global --get user.email