Global vs local configuration in Git - CLI Comparison

Introduction

Git lets you set configuration options that control how it works. These settings can be saved globally for all projects or locally for just one project. This helps you customize Git behavior depending on your needs.

When you want your name and email to be the same for all your Git projects on your computer

When you need a different username or email for a specific project, like work vs personal

When you want to change Git settings like line endings or merge tools only for one project

When you want to check what settings are active in your current project

When you want to fix a problem caused by wrong Git settings in one project without affecting others

Commands

This sets your name globally for all Git projects on your computer. Git uses this name in commits unless overridden locally.

Terminal

git config --global user.name "Alice Smith"

Expected Output

No output (command runs silently)

→

--global - Sets the configuration for all projects for the current user

This sets your email globally for all Git projects. It is used in commits to identify the author.

Terminal

git config --global user.email "[e-mail]"

Expected Output

No output (command runs silently)

→

--global - Applies the setting to all repositories for the user

This sets your name only for the current Git project. It overrides the global name for this project.

Terminal

git config --local user.name "Alice Work"

Expected Output

No output (command runs silently)

→

--local - Sets the configuration only for the current repository

Shows all Git configuration settings currently active in the current project, including global and local ones.

Terminal

git config --list

Expected Output

user.name=Alice Work

user.email=[e-mail]

Removes the local user.name setting, so Git will use the global name again in this project.

Terminal

git config --local --unset user.name

Expected Output

No output (command runs silently)

→

--unset - Removes a configuration setting

→

--local - Targets the local repository configuration

Key Concept

Local Git settings override global settings for the current project only.

Common Mistakes

Setting user.name without --global or --local flags

Git may set the value in an unexpected config file or fail silently, causing confusion about which setting is active.

Always specify --global to set for all projects or --local to set for the current project explicitly.

Assuming global settings apply when local settings exist

Local settings take priority, so global settings are ignored in that project, leading to unexpected author info in commits.

Check local settings with git config --list and remove local overrides if you want global settings to apply.

Summary

Use git config --global to set options for all your Git projects on your computer.

Use git config --local to set options only for the current project, overriding global settings.

Check active settings with git config --list to see which values Git uses in the current project.