Change Git Commit Author: Complete Guide

To change the author of a single commit in Git that’s not the latest commit, you need to use interactive rebase. First, identify the commit hash you want to modify, then run git rebase -i <commit-hash>^ and change “pick” to “edit” for your target commit. After the rebase stops at that commit, use git commit --amend --author="New Author Name <email>" --no-edit and finish with git rebase --continue.

Contents

• How to Change Author for a Single Commit
• Understanding the Interactive Rebase Process
• Alternative Approaches for Single Commits
• Changing Author for Multiple Commits
• Important Considerations and Best Practices
• Troubleshooting Common Issues

How to Change Author for a Single Commit

The most reliable method for changing the author of a specific commit that’s not the latest commit involves using interactive rebase. Here’s the step-by-step process:

1. Identify the commit hash you want to modify using git log or git log --oneline

2. Start interactive rebase from the commit before your target commit:

   bash

   git rebase -i <commit-hash>^
   

   The ^ is important - it means “the commit before this one”

3. Edit the rebase file that opens in your text editor, changing pick to edit for the commit you want to modify:

   pick abc1234 Commit message 1
   edit def5678 Commit message 2  <-- Change "pick" to "edit" here
   hij9012 Commit message 3
   

4. Save and close the editor

5. Amend the commit with the new author information:

   bash

   git commit --amend --author="New Author Name <new-email@example.com>" --no-edit
   

6. Continue the rebase:

   bash

   git rebase --continue
   

This method works reliably because it temporarily pauses the rebase process at your specific commit, allowing you to modify just that commit before continuing with the rest of the history.

Understanding the Interactive Rebase Process

Interactive rebase is a powerful Git feature that lets you modify commits in your history. When you use git rebase -i, Git opens an editor showing a list of commits that will be processed:

• pick: Use commit as-is
• edit: Use commit but stop for amending
• reword: Use commit but amend the commit message
• squash: Use commit but combine with previous commit
• fixup: Like squash but discard this commit’s log message

For changing author information, the edit option is what you need, as it pauses the rebase process at that specific commit, giving you the opportunity to modify it with git commit --amend.

Important: When you mark a commit for editing with the edit command, Git will stop the rebase process and wait for you to make your changes before continuing. This is the key mechanism that allows you to modify individual commits in your history.

Alternative Approaches for Single Commits

While interactive rebase is the most common method, there are a few alternative approaches you might consider:

Using git commit --amend for the Latest Commit

If your target commit is the latest commit (HEAD), you can use a simpler approach:

git commit --amend --author="New Author Name <new-email@example.com>" --no-edit

The --no-edit flag keeps the commit message unchanged while only modifying the author information.

Using git rebase --onto for Specific Ranges

For more complex scenarios, you can use git rebase --onto to target specific commit ranges:

git rebase --onto <new-base> <old-base> <target-commit>

However, this approach is more complex and typically used for more advanced history rewriting scenarios.

Changing Author for Multiple Commits

If you need to change the author for multiple commits, Git provides several efficient methods:

Method 1: Using git rebase --exec (Recommended)

This is the most efficient method for changing author on multiple commits:

git rebase -i --exec 'git commit --amend --reset-author --no-edit' <commit-hash>

This command will:

1. Start an interactive rebase from the specified commit
2. For each commit, automatically run the amend command with the current user configuration
3. Continue through all commits without manual intervention

Method 2: Using git filter-branch

For more complex author changes or when you need to match specific patterns:

git filter-branch --env-filter '
export GIT_AUTHOR_NAME="New Author Name"
export GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL="new-email@example.com"
export GIT_COMMITTER_NAME="New Committer Name"
export GIT_COMMITTER_EMAIL="new-committer@example.com"
' -- --all

This method is more powerful but also more complex and should be used with caution.

Method 3: Interactive Rebase with Manual Selection

For selective changes across multiple commits:

git rebase -i <commit-hash>

In the editor, mark each commit you want to change with edit, then for each one:

git commit --amend --author="New Author Name <new-email@example.com>" --no-edit
git rebase --continue

Important Considerations and Best Practices

Safety First

• Always work on a branch when rewriting history
• Consider pushing to a new branch first to test your changes
• Make sure no one else has pulled your changes before rewriting history

Author vs Committer

Git distinguishes between:

• Author: The person who originally wrote the code
• Committer: The person who applied the changes to the repository

When using --reset-author, both fields are updated. If you want to keep the original committer, you’ll need to set both fields explicitly:

git commit --amend --author="Original Author <email>" --committer="New Committer <new-email>"

Date Preservation

By default, amending a commit changes the author date. To preserve the original date:

git commit --amend --author="New Author <email>" --date="$(git log -1 --format=%ad)" --no-edit

Performance Considerations

• Interactive rebase with many commits can be slow
• Filter-branch is powerful but can be memory-intensive with large repositories
• Consider using git rebase --exec for batch operations

Troubleshooting Common Issues

“error: could not apply [commit-hash]”

This typically occurs when there are conflicts. Use git rebase --abort to cancel and try a different approach.

“You have unstaged changes”

Commit or stash your changes before starting the rebase process.

“fatal: rebase in progress”

You need to either continue (git rebase --continue), abort (git rebase --abort), or skip (git rebase --skip) the current rebase operation.

Author not updated

Make sure you’re using the correct format: “Name ” with angle brackets around the email address.

Sources

1. How To Change Git Commit Author | Coding Adventures
2. How can I change the commit author for a single commit? - Stack Overflow
3. Git rebase change author? - Stack Overflow
4. How can I change the author (name / email) of a commit? | Learn Version Control with Git
5. How to Change the Commit Author for a Single Commit? - GeeksforGeeks
6. How do I change the author and committer name/email for multiple commits? - Stack Overflow
7. How can I change the author of multiple Git commits? - DeployHQ

Conclusion

Changing commit authors in Git is straightforward once you understand the interactive rebase process. For single commits, the git rebase -i approach with the edit command is the most reliable method. For multiple commits, the git rebase --exec command provides an efficient batch processing solution.

Remember these key points:

• Always work on a separate branch when rewriting history
• Interactive rebase gives you fine-grained control over which commits to modify
• The --reset-author flag automatically uses your current Git configuration
• Consider the difference between author and committer fields
• Preserve commit dates when necessary using the --date flag

With these techniques, you can confidently correct author information in your Git history while maintaining the integrity of your codebase.