Fix · GitHub and Git

"Author identity unknown" or wrong name on my commits

What you may see

Git asks me who I am when I commit
My commits show a strange name or are not linked to my GitHub profile

Most likely cause

Git has no name and email saved for you, or the email does not match one on your GitHub account.

Check first (about two minutes)

Run git config user.name and git config user.email.

The fix prompt

What you type here never leaves your browser. The search runs on this page, and nothing is sent to a server or to an AI.

The exact error or what you see

What you did before it happened

Kept only in this browser, on this device. Keys and passwords are removed before anything is saved.

Prompt language

You are a patient senior engineer who knows Git and GitHub very well and explains them to people who are not developers. I am not a developer, so explain every step in plain words and tell me exactly which button, menu or command you mean. If you are not sure about something, say so; do not guess.

THE PROBLEM
"Author identity unknown" or wrong name on my commits

THE EXACT ERROR OR WHAT I SEE
[paste the exact error here]

WHAT I DID BEFORE IT HAPPENED
[write in a few words what you did before it happened]

MOST LIKELY CAUSE
Git has no name and email saved for you, or the email does not match one on your GitHub account.

DO THESE STEPS, IN THIS ORDER
1. Run git config --list --show-origin | grep user and show me.
2. Set the name and email: git config --global user.name "My Name" and git config --global user.email "<email>" (ask me which email; GitHub also offers a private "noreply" address in its email settings).
3. Explain that old commits keep the old name, and that rewriting them is not needed.
Stop and tell me if what you see does not match a step. Do not skip ahead.

CHECK THAT IT WORKED
- The next commit shows my name and email in git log -1.
Tell me exactly what I should see on the screen when it works.

DO NOT CHANGE
- Do not rewrite old commits to change the author.
- Anything I did not ask about: the design, the text, other pages, other settings or the data.
- Do not delete files, data or branches, do not reset or force-push, and do not rewrite history, unless you first show me exactly what would be lost and I say yes.
- Do not paste, print or ask me to paste a password or secret key into this chat. If one is needed, tell me which settings page of the right service to store it in.

WHEN YOU FINISH
Explain in simple words what you changed (file by file or setting by setting), why you changed it, and how I can undo it.

Paste it into Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini or Cursor, then follow what it says.

After you tried it, did it work?

Steps

Run git config --list --show-origin | grep user and show me.
Set the name and email: git config --global user.name "My Name" and git config --global user.email "<email>" (ask me which email; GitHub also offers a private "noreply" address in its email settings).
Explain that old commits keep the old name, and that rewriting them is not needed.

Do not do this

Do not put a work email you want private into a public repository's commits.
Do not rewrite old commits to change the author.

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