Global vs local configuration in Git - Practice Questions

Challenge - 5 Problems

🧠 Conceptual

intermediate

Understanding Git Configuration Levels

Which Git configuration level applies settings only to the current repository?

A Local configuration

B Global configuration

C System configuration

D Environment configuration

💡 Hint

Think about where you want the settings to take effect: just one project or all projects on your computer.

Local configuration applies only to the current repository. Global applies to the user across all repositories, and system applies to all users on the machine.

💻 Command Output

intermediate

Output of Git Config List Command

What is the output of the command git config --list --local when run inside a repository with a user.email set locally?

A user.email=[e-mail]

B user.email=[e-mail]

C No output, command fails

D user.email=[e-mail]

💡 Hint

Local config overrides global and system for that repository.

The --local flag shows only settings from the local repository config, so it outputs the locally set user.email.

🔀 Workflow

advanced

Setting User Name for All Repositories

You want to set your Git user name for all repositories on your computer. Which command should you run?

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

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

C git config --system user.name "Alice"

D git config user.name "Alice"

💡 Hint

Think about which config level applies to all repositories for your user.

The --global option sets the user name for all repositories for the current user. --local affects only the current repo, and --system affects all users on the machine.

❓ Troubleshoot

advanced

Why Does Git Use the Wrong Email?

You set your email globally with git config --global user.email "[e-mail]", but commits in one repository still use a different email. What is the most likely reason?

A The email is set in the environment variables and overrides Git config

B The system configuration overrides the global setting

C The repository has a local user.email set that overrides the global setting

D Git caches the email and needs to be restarted

💡 Hint

Remember the order of precedence for Git config levels.

Local configuration has higher priority than global. If a local user.email is set, it overrides the global setting for that repository.

✅ Best Practice

expert

Choosing Git Config Level for Machine-wide Settings

Which Git configuration level should you use to set a proxy for all users on a shared machine?

A Global configuration

B System configuration

C Local configuration

D Repository configuration

💡 Hint

Think about settings that affect all users on the machine.

System configuration applies to all users and repositories on the machine, making it suitable for machine-wide settings like a proxy.

Practice

1. What is the main difference between git config --global and git config --local?

easy

A. Local config is stored in the user's home directory.

B. Global config applies only to the current project; local config applies to all projects.

C. Global config overrides local config settings.

D. Global config applies to all projects; local config applies only to the current project.

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand global configuration scope

   Global configuration applies settings to all Git projects on the computer, stored in the user's home directory.

2. Step 2: Understand local configuration scope

   Local configuration applies only to the current Git project and overrides global settings if both exist.

3. Final Answer:

   Global config applies to all projects; local config applies only to the current project. -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Global = all projects, Local = current project [OK]

Hint: Global is for all projects, local is project-specific [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing which config applies globally or locally
• Thinking local config is stored in home directory
• Assuming global config overrides local config

2. Which of the following commands correctly sets the user email only for the current Git project?

easy

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

B. git config --system user.email "[e-mail]"

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

D. git set user.email "[e-mail]"

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify the correct command for local config

   By default, git config without --global or --system sets local config for the current project.

2. Step 2: Check command syntax

   git config --local is valid but optional; git config user.email "[e-mail]" is the simplest correct form.

3. Final Answer:

   git config user.email "[e-mail]" -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Local config uses git config without --global [OK]

Hint: Use git config without --global for local settings [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using --global when wanting local config
• Using invalid command like git set
• Assuming --local is mandatory

3. Given these commands run in order inside a Git project:

git config --global user.name "GlobalUser"
git config user.name "LocalUser"
git config user.name

What will be the output of the last command?

medium

A. GlobalUser

B. LocalUser

C. No output (empty)

D. Error: user.name not set

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand config precedence

   Local config overrides global config when both exist for the same key.

2. Step 2: Analyze the commands

   First sets global user.name to "GlobalUser", then local user.name to "LocalUser". The last command reads the effective user.name, which is local.

3. Final Answer:

   LocalUser -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Local overrides global, so output is LocalUser [OK]

Hint: Local config overrides global for same key [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming global config always shows
• Thinking last set value globally is used
• Confusing output with error

4. You ran git config --local user.name "Alice" but git config user.name still shows "Bob". What is the most likely problem?

medium

A. You are not inside a Git repository directory.

B. You used --local incorrectly; it should be --global.

C. The global config is overriding the local config.

D. The user.name key is misspelled.

Solution

1. Step 1: Check local config requirements

   Local config applies only inside a Git repository folder. Outside, local config commands fail silently or do not apply.

2. Step 2: Understand why global shows instead

   If outside a repo, local config is ignored, so global config value "Bob" is shown.

3. Final Answer:

   You are not inside a Git repository directory. -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Local config needs repo folder [OK]

Hint: Local config works only inside a Git repo folder [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming global always overrides local
• Using wrong option --global instead of --local
• Misspelling config keys

5. You want to set your Git user email globally but override it with a different email for a specific project. Which sequence of commands achieves this?

hard

A. git config --global user.email "[e-mail]"git config --local user.email "[e-mail]" (inside project)

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

C. git config user.email "[e-mail]" (inside project)git config --global user.email "[e-mail]"

D. git config --global user.email "[e-mail]"git config user.email "[e-mail]" (inside project)

Solution

1. Step 1: Set global email first

   Use git config --global user.email "[e-mail]" to set the default email for all projects.

2. Step 2: Override locally inside the project

   Inside the project folder, run git config --local user.email "[e-mail]" to override the global email only for that project.

3. Final Answer:

   git config --global user.email "[e-mail]" followed by git config --local user.email "[e-mail]" inside project -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Global first, then local override inside project [OK]

Hint: Set global first, then local inside project to override [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Setting local config before global
• Using local config outside project folder
• Confusing which email applies where