How Do I Change My GitHub Bash Username?

To change the username associated with your Git commits when using Git Bash (or any command line interface for Git), you need to configure your Git settings.

The term "GitHub Bash username" can sometimes be confusing. It most often refers to the name that appears as the author of your commits when you push them to GitHub. This is configured within Git itself, not directly tied to your GitHub account username or your system's login name displayed in the terminal prompt.

Changing Your Git Username (Author Name)

You can easily change the name associated with your Git commits using the git config command. This command allows you to set various configuration options for Git.

Using git config

As mentioned in the reference, on Windows, you can use either the Command Prompt or Git Bash itself to run these commands. The process is similar on macOS and Linux using their respective terminals.

1. Open your terminal: Launch Git Bash, Command Prompt, or your preferred terminal application.

2. Set your username: Enter the following command, replacing "Your Name" with the first and last name you want to use for your commits:

   git config --global user.name "Your Name"

   • git config: This is the command used to get and set Git configuration options.
   • --global: This flag applies the setting to your entire Git installation, affecting all repositories on your system. If you want to set a different name for a specific project, navigate into that project's directory and run the command without the --global flag.
   • user.name: This is the specific configuration key for your Git username.
   • "Your Name": The value you are setting, enclosed in double quotes.

3. Set your email address: It's also crucial to set your email address, as Git uses both the name and email to identify commit authors. Your email is how GitHub often links your commits to your GitHub account. Use the following command, replacing "[email protected]" with the email address linked to your GitHub account:

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

   • user.email: The configuration key for your Git email address.

After running these commands, any new commits you make from this system will use the name and email you specified.

Verifying Your Settings

You can verify that your settings have been applied correctly by viewing your Git configuration:

git config --global --list

This command will show you all your global Git configuration settings, including user.name and user.email.

Understanding Scope: Global vs. Local

The --global flag is important. Here's a quick comparison:

Scope	Command Example	Applies To	Use Case
Global	git config --global user.name "Name"	All Git repositories on your system	Your primary name/email for most projects.
Local	git config user.name "Project Name"	Only the current Git repository	Using a different identity for a specific project (e.g., work vs. personal).

When you run a git config command without --global inside a specific repository, it creates or updates a configuration file (.git/config) within that repository, overriding the global setting for that project only.

What These Changes Affect

Changing user.name and user.email in your Git configuration affects:

• The author name and email displayed in the commit history (git log).
• How your commits are attributed on platforms like GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket. GitHub uses the commit email to link the commit to your account profile.

These commands do not change:

• Your GitHub account username (the name you log in with and that appears in URLs like github.com/your-username). To change this, you must go to your GitHub account settings on the GitHub website.
• The system username displayed in your terminal prompt (e.g., user@computer:/path/to/repo$). This is your operating system's username.

In summary, the primary way to change the "username" related to your activity from Git Bash is by configuring the user.name and user.email settings for Git using the git config --global commands.