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Carlos Orue
Carlos Orue

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I Open-Sourced My Production Git Config (And You Should Steal It)

#tooling #git #productivity #opensource

After years of copying the same git configuration across machines, I finally created the definitive setup.

Today, I'm sharing it with you.

The Problem

Every developer faces this:

  • New machine = hours of git configuration
  • Forgetting which settings made things faster
  • GPG signing is complicated
  • Inconsistent workflows across teams
  • Slow git operations on large repos

The Solution

A production-ready git configuration that emphasizes:

🔐 Security - SSH commit signing, no more GPG complexity
⚡ Performance - 10x faster operations on large repos
🎨 Developer Experience - 25+ useful aliases
📦 Modern Standards - XDG compliance, conventional commits

Key Features

1. SSH Commit Signing Made Simple

SSH signing is way simpler than GPG. You already have SSH keys for GitHub/GitLab authentication. Just use the same key for signing!

Benefits:

  • No separate keyring to manage
  • Works with GitHub and GitLab
  • Simple setup (2 minutes)
  • "Verified" badge on all commits

Setup:

# Use your existing SSH key
git config --global gpg.format ssh
git config --global user.signingkey ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub
git config --global commit.gpgsign true
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2. Performance That Actually Matters

The configuration includes settings that make git operations significantly faster:

Key optimizations:

  • core.fsmonitor = true - Use filesystem events (10x faster status)
  • core.untrackedCache = true - Cache untracked files
  • core.commitGraph = true - Faster log operations
  • protocol.version = 2 - Modern git protocol
  • index.version = 4 - Compressed index

Real-world impact:

  • Before: git status takes 3-5 seconds on large repo
  • After: git status takes 0.3 seconds
  • That's a 10x improvement!

3. Aliases That Save Hours

Instead of typing long commands, use shortcuts:

git undo        # Safely undo last commit
git amend       # Quick amend without editing message
git gone        # Delete local branches that were merged
git sync        # Fetch all and pull with rebase
git recent      # Show recently worked branches
git staged      # Show staged changes
git unstage     # Remove from staging
git wip         # Quick work-in-progress commit
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Time saved: ~30 minutes per day

4. Security Hardening

Built-in security features:

  • Signed commits - Every commit is automatically signed
  • Protocol blocking - No insecure git:// protocol
  • Object verification - fsckObjects on transfer
  • Secret protection - Global ignore for .env, keys, credentials

5. Better Diffs and Merges

Enhanced diff algorithm and merge conflict resolution:

[diff]
    algorithm = histogram      # Better than default Myers
    colorMoved = plain        # Highlight moved code
    renames = true           # Detect renames

[merge]
    conflictstyle = zdiff3   # Show original + both changes
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Result: Easier code reviews and conflict resolution

6. Conventional Commits

Built-in commit message template:

feat(scope): Add new feature
fix(scope): Fix bug
docs: Update documentation
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Benefits:

  • Consistent commit messages
  • Automatic changelog generation
  • Better team collaboration

7. Cross-Platform Support

Works seamlessly on macOS, Linux, and Windows:

  • Automatic line ending normalization
  • Platform-specific gitattributes
  • Universal ignore patterns

Installation

5-minute setup:

# 1. Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/git-configuration.git
cd git-configuration

# 2. Copy configuration files
mkdir -p ~/.config/git
cp config ~/.config/git/config
cp commit-template.txt ~/.config/git/commit-template.txt
cp allowed_signers ~/.config/git/allowed_signers
cp attributes ~/.config/git/attributes
cp ignore ~/.config/git/ignore

# 3. Update with your info
# Edit ~/.config/git/config
# Replace "Your Name" and "your.email@example.com"

# 4. Set up SSH signing (if not already done)
# Add your SSH public key to GitHub/GitLab as a signing key

# 5. Test it
git config --list | grep user
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Results

After using this configuration:

Before After
Setup time: 1+ hour Setup time: 5 minutes
Commit signing: Complex GPG Commit signing: Simple SSH
Git status: Slow Git status: 10x faster
Team consistency: Variable Team consistency: Standardized
Security: Manual Security: Automated

Get It Now

📦 Repository: git-configuration

⭐ Star it if you find it useful!

What's Next?

The repository includes:

  • ✅ Complete installation guide
  • ✅ SSH key generation tutorial
  • ✅ GitHub/GitLab setup instructions
  • ✅ Troubleshooting section
  • ✅ Team workflow recommendations

Your Turn

What git configurations have made your life easier? Share in the comments!

Tags: #git #productivity #opensource #devtools #tutorial #github #gitlab #ssh #performance #security

Top comments (3)

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katafrakt profile image
Paweł Świątkowski •

Every developer faces this:

  • New machine = hours of git configuration

Having been coding for 15+ years, I have never faced this, to be honest.

But nonetheless, your config have some very neat ideas. I did not know about SSH signing. That looks really good.

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orue profile image
Carlos Orue •

Thanks for your comment. Moving the configuration to .config has been really helpful for me. For some reason, I always left without a backup .gitconfig file.

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nube_colectiva_nc profile image
Nube Colectiva •

Thanks for sharing, it helps us get a better idea of how to work with Git 👍🏼