Misc Git Notes

Table of Contents

• Plain GPG Protected Credential Helper
  • Using GPG for Github Authentication
  • Generate a New GPG Key
  • Add the New GPG Key to Github
  • Signing Commits with GPG
• Git Commit Message Conventions

Plain GPG Protected Credential Helper

Using GPG authentication (HTTPS) with git is not as straightforward as using SSH authentication.
You have to set up a credential helper and then set up a password manager.

Using GPG for Github Authentication

• If you're using HTTP/HTTPS authentication, and you want to authenticate with
  your GPG key, you can set up a credential helper

• Set git to use gpg

  git config --global credential.credentialStore gpg  
  

Generate a New GPG Key

First, you'll need to generate a GPG key before you can add it to Github.

1. Run the command to generate a new key:
   

   gpg --full-generate-key  
   

2. Specify the type. RSA (default) is good.
3. Specify key size (4096)
4. Enter when key will expire
   • This is optional. You can leave it blank if you don't want the key to expire.
5. Verify
6. Enter your user info
   • Note: Use the email associated with your GitHub account.
7. Set a password

Add the New GPG Key to Github

1. List your GPG keys to find the Key ID.

   gpg --list-secret-keys --keyid-format=long  
   

   • You will see an output that looks like this:
     

     /home/user/.gnupg/secring.gpg  
     -----------------------------  
     sec   4096R/<Your-Key-ID> 2021-01-01 [expires: 2024-01-01]  
     # or  
     sec   rsa4096/<Your-Key-ID> 2021-01-01 [expires: 2024-01-01]  
     

   • Take <Your-Key-ID>. This is your Key ID.

2. Add the public key to GH account.

   • Export your public key using your Key ID:

     gpg --armor --export <Your-Key-ID>  
     

     • If you want, redirect to a file (> gpg_key.txt) for easy copypasta.
   • On Github, go to Profile -> Settings -> SSH and GPG keys.
   • Select "Add GPG Key", and paste your public key.

Signing Commits with GPG

1. Configure Git to use your GPG key.
   • Set your signingkey in your .gitconfig:
     

     git config --global user.signingkey <Your-Key-ID>  
     

   • To sign all commits by default in any local repository on your computer:
     

     git config --global commit.gpgsign true  
     

Other Git Encryption Solutions:

• SSH with ssh-keygen
• git-remote-gcrypt
• git-secret

• git-crypt

• BlackBox by StackOverflow

Git Commit Message Conventions

[type]: [description]

[body]

Where:

• [type]: Indicates the type of the commit. It should be one of the following:

  • feat: A new feature or functionality added.
  • fix: A bug fix or error correction.
  • docs: Documentation updates or changes.
  • style: Changes to code formatting, indentation, etc.
  • refactor: Code refactoring or restructuring without adding new features or fixing bugs.
  • test: Adding or updating tests.
  • chore: Maintenance tasks or other miscellaneous changes.

• [description]: A brief and concise description of the change made in the commit.

  • It should start with a capitalized verb and should not exceed 50 characters.

• [body] (optional): A more detailed description of the changes made in the commit.

  • This part is optional but can be useful for providing additional context or information about the changes.