Git Context

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Manage multiple Git identities and configurations with ease.

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Ever pushed personal commits to a work repo? Or discovered 50 commits later that you’ve been using the wrong email address?

I used to juggle multiple .gitconfig files, git aliases, and mental gymnastics trying to remember which identity I was using. It was tedious, error-prone, and frankly, exhausting.

So I built Git Context - a single command to switch between all your Git identities. Work, personal, freelance, school - whatever contexts you need.

The Problem I Solved

Managing multiple Git identities is surprisingly common. Maybe you’re:

  • A developer with separate work and personal projects
  • A contractor juggling multiple clients
  • Someone who wants different GPG keys per context
  • Using different SSH configurations for different Git hosts

The traditional approach? Manual config editing, repository-specific overrides, or hoping you remember to check git config user.email before every commit. None of these scale when you’re constantly context-switching.

Enter Git Context

Git Context manages profiles in a single YAML file. Define your identities once, switch between them with one command, and never commit with the wrong email again.

$ gctx list
Profile      Email                         Status
-------      -----                         ------
work         [email protected]                ● (active)
personal     [email protected]
university   [email protected]

$ gctx switch personal
✓ Switched to profile 'personal'
ℹ User: Andre Nogueira <[email protected]m>

Each profile can include everything: user identity, GPG signing keys, URL rewrites, aliases, diff tools - any Git configuration you need. Global settings apply everywhere, profile settings override.

What Makes It Different

Zero Context Switching - No opening files, no environment variables, no aliases. Just gctx switch.

20+ Config Sections Supported - Not just user/email. Configure push defaults, merge strategies, delta pager settings, fetch behavior, rebase options, maintenance schedules - everything.

URL Rewrites Per Profile - Use different SSH configurations per context. Work repos use company SSH keys, personal repos use your personal keys.

Safety Built-In - Automatic .gitconfig backups before every switch. Confirmation prompts for destructive operations. You can always undo.

Smart Detection - Matches your current Git config against profiles to show which one you’re using.

Why I Built This

Honestly? I was tired of the friction. Checking my email before every commit, manually editing configs, dealing with wrong identities on pushed commits.

I also wanted to explore:

  • Modern Go Development - CLI applications with Cobra, clean architecture patterns
  • Configuration Management - Dynamic section handling that makes extending the tool trivial
  • Test-Driven Development - Hit 93.7% coverage on config, 97.3% on git operations
  • DevOps Automation - CI/CD pipeline with testing, linting (golangci-lint), security scanning (Trivy)

The result is a tool I use every day. It’s fast, reliable, and invisible when it works (which is always, promise).

Could I used another tool?

Sure! There are other multi-profile Git tools out there. But I wanted it toe be done my way:

  • Simple CLI with minimal commands
  • Full Git config coverage (for my use cases)
  • YAML config for easy editing with global and profile sections for ease of use and backup

Tech Stack

  • Go 1.25+ - Performance and simplicity
  • Cobra - Battle-tested CLI framework
  • YAML - Human-readable configuration
  • GitHub Actions - Automated testing, cross-platform releases via GoReleaser

Architecture follows clean separation: CLI commands, config management, git operations, and UI layers all independent and testable.

Getting Started

Full installation instructions (Homebrew, Go, or binaries) are available in the GitHub repository.

Basic Usage

# Initialize config
git-context init

# Add profiles
git-context add work
git-context add personal

# List all profiles
git-context list

# Switch contexts
git-context switch work

# Switch back to the previous profile
git-context switch -

# Show current active profile
git-context current

# Show details of a specific profile
git-context show work

Use Cases

Scenario: Work vs Personal Repositories

# Create work profile
git-context add work
# Enter: Your Name, [email protected], work-gpg-key

# Create personal profile
git-context add personal
# Enter: Your Name, [email protected], personal-gpg-key

# Switch based on what you're working on
git-context switch work      # For company projects
git-context switch personal  # For personal projects

Configuration Example

global:
  core:
    pager: delta
    editor: nvim
  push:
    autoSetupRemote: true
  merge:
    conflictstyle: diff3
  commit:
    gpgsign: true
  gpg:
    program: /usr/local/bin/gpg
  pull:
    rebase: true

profiles:
  work:
    user:
      name: 'Andre Nogueira'
      email: '[email protected]'
      signingkey: 'A0A90F4231D8B028'
    url:
      - pattern: '[email protected]/'
        insteadOf: 'https://git.techquests.dev/'
      - pattern: 'ssh://[email protected]/'
        insteadOf: 'https://github.com/'
    http:
      postBuffer: 157286400

  personal:
    user:
      name: 'Andre Nogueira'
      email: '[email protected]'
      signingkey: 'B1C2D3E4F5G6H7I8'
    url:
      - pattern: 'ssh://[email protected]/'
        insteadOf: 'https://github.com/'

  university:
    user:
      name: 'Andre Nogueira'
      email: '[email protected]'
      signingkey: 'C1D2E3F4G5H6I7J8'

Configuration lives at ~/.config/git-context/config.yaml. Edit manually or use the interactive gctx add command - limited to profile creation, since I wanted to keep it simple.

Real-World Use

I switch contexts dozens of times a day. Working on a side project? gctx switch personal. Back to work? gctx switch work. Contributing to open source? gctx switch oss.

Each switch updates my entire Git config - identity, signing keys, URL rewrites, aliases. One command, instant context shift.

No more “oops wrong email” commits. No more checking configs. Just work.

Try It Out

Full source available at: techquestsdev/git-context

Whether you’re managing multiple jobs, separating personal and professional work, or just want to stop worrying about Git identities, give it a try.

It’s open source, cross-platform, and solves a real problem.

Happy committing!