View and modify configuration

View Current Configuration

Git configurations are divided into three levels: system (--system), user (--global), and repository (--local). Use the git config command with the --list parameter to view configurations:

# View all configurations (includes all three levels)
git config --list

# View system-level configurations
git config --system --list

# View user-level configurations
git config --global --list

# View current repository configurations
git config --local --list

When duplicate configurations exist, repository-level configurations override user-level configurations, and user-level configurations override system-level configurations. For example, if the following configurations exist simultaneously:

# System-level configuration
git config --system user.name "System Name"

# User-level configuration
git config --global user.name "Global Name"

# Repository-level configuration
git config --local user.name "Local Name"

The actual effective value is Local Name. To view the effective value of a specific configuration item:

git config user.name

Modify Configuration Items

Modify configurations using the git config command with level parameters and key-value pairs:

# Set user-level configuration
git config --global user.email "your@email.com"

# Set current repository configuration
git config --local core.editor "code --wait"

Common configuration items include:

• User information: user.name, user.email
• Default editor: core.editor
• Line ending handling: core.autocrlf
• Aliases: alias

For example, to automatically convert line endings on commit (suitable for Windows):

git config --global core.autocrlf true

Configure Aliases

Git supports creating shortcuts for commonly used commands. For example, creating co as an alias for checkout:

git config --global alias.co checkout

After this, you can use git co instead of git checkout. More complex aliases can include parameters:

git config --global alias.lg "log --graph --abbrev-commit --decorate --format=format:'%C(bold blue)%h%C(reset) - %C(bold green)(%ar)%C(reset) %C(white)%s%C(reset) %C(dim white)- %an%C(reset)%C(bold yellow)%d%C(reset)'"

This alias displays a beautifully formatted log output with a branch graph.

Multi-Configuration Management

Developers may need different configurations for different projects. For example, using different emails for company and personal projects:

# Global configuration (for personal projects)
git config --global user.email "personal@email.com"

# Set local configuration after entering the company project directory
cd company-project
git config --local user.email "work@company.com"

Conditional configurations can be used to automate switching. Add the following to ~/.gitconfig:

[includeIf "gitdir:~/work/"]
    path = ~/work/.gitconfig

Then configure work-specific settings in ~/work/.gitconfig:

[user]
    email = work@company.com

Configuration File Locations

Configuration files for different levels are stored in the following locations:

• System-level: /etc/gitconfig (Unix) or Git installation directory/etc/gitconfig (Windows)
• User-level: ~/.gitconfig or ~/.config/git/config
• Repository-level: .git/config

You can directly edit these files to modify configurations. For example, to edit user-level configurations:

# Open with the default editor
git config --global --edit

# Or edit the file directly
vim ~/.gitconfig

Configuration files use the INI format. Example content:

[user]
    name = Your Name
    email = your@email.com
[core]
    editor = code --wait
[alias]
    st = status
    co = checkout

Temporarily Override Configurations

Sometimes you need to temporarily override a configuration item. Use the -c parameter:

git -c user.name="Temp Name" commit -m "message"

This is particularly useful in automation scripts to avoid modifying persistent configurations.

Verify Configuration Priority

To verify the final effective value of a configuration item, use:

git config --show-origin user.email

This displays the source file and location of the configuration value, for example:

file:/home/user/.gitconfig    user.email=personal@email.com

Delete Configuration Items

Delete configurations using the --unset parameter:

# Delete user-level configuration
git config --global --unset user.name

# Delete repository-level configuration
git config --local --unset core.editor

To delete all matching items (when multiple duplicate configurations exist), use --unset-all:

git config --unset-all alias.st

Common Configuration Examples

A typical developer's global configuration might include:

# Basic user information
git config --global user.name "Developer"
git config --global user.email "dev@example.com"

# Set VS Code as the default editor
git config --global core.editor "code --wait"

# Line ending handling (choose based on system)
git config --global core.autocrlf input  # Mac/Linux
git config --global core.autocrlf true   # Windows

# Colorful output
git config --global color.ui auto

# Common aliases
git config --global alias.st status
git config --global alias.co checkout
git config --global alias.br branch
git config --global alias.ci commit
git config --global alias.unstage 'reset HEAD --'
git config --global alias.last 'log -1 HEAD'