| title | titleSuffix | description | ms.assetid | ms.service | ms.topic | ms.date | monikerRange | ms.subservice |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Git preferences and settings |
Azure Repos |
Learn how to view and configure many Git-related settings and preferences, and how to work with Git configuration files in Visual Studio. |
azure-devops-repos |
how-to |
10/19/2022 |
<= azure-devops |
azure-devops-repos-git |
[!INCLUDE version-lt-eq-azure-devops] [!INCLUDE version-vs-gt-eq-2019]
In Visual Studio, you can view and configure several Git-related settings and preferences. For example, you can set your name and email address for commit metadata, specify your preferred diff and merge tools, and set the default folder path for repo clones.
Git settings and preferences in Visual Studio fall into two main categories:
-
Git Global Settings, which apply to all Git repos for the current user.
-
Git Repository Settings, which apply to the active Git repo.
Within those categories, settings can be:
-
Git configuration file settings, which you can view and modify either in Visual Studio, on the command line, or by editing a Git configuration file. Examples of Git configuration file settings are user name, email address, and remote aliases. Git stores settings in system, global, and local Git configuration files:
-
System Git configuration file settings apply to all users and repos on your computer.
-
Global Git configuration file settings apply to all repos for the current user. Global settings take precedence over system settings.
-
Local Git configuration file settings apply to the local repo that contains the local Git configuration file. System settings take precedence over global settings.
-
-
Visual Studio Git-related settings, which are Visual Studio settings that relate to Git but aren't stored in any Git configuration file. You can only view and modify these settings in Visual Studio. An example of one of these settings is the default folder path where Visual Studio clones repos.
In this article you learn how to:
[!div class="checklist"]
- Explore Git settings
- Modify Git configuration file settings
- Modify Visual Studio Git-related settings
Visual Studio 2022 provides a Git version control experience by using the Git menu, Git Changes, and through context menus in Solution Explorer. Visual Studio 2019 version 16.8 also offers the Team Explorer Git user interface. For more information, see the Visual Studio 2019 - Team Explorer tab.
[!INCLUDE Explore Git settings]
Visual Studio 2019 provides a Git version control experience by using the Git menu, Git Changes, and through context menus in Solution Explorer.
[!INCLUDE Explore Git settings]
Visual Studio 2019 version 16.8 and later versions provides a Git version control experience while maintaining the Team Explorer Git user interface. To use Team Explorer, uncheck Tools > Options > Preview Features > New Git user experience from the menu bar. You can use Git features from either interface interchangeably.
-
To configure Git settings in Visual Studio, choose Settings from Team Explorer to open the Settings view.
:::image type="content" source="media/git-config/visual-studio-2019/team-explorer/git-menu-settings.png" border="true" alt-text="Screenshot of the Settings option in the Team Explorer Home view." lightbox="media/git-config/visual-studio-2019/team-explorer/git-menu-settings-lrg.png":::
-
In the Settings view, choose Global Settings to view settings that apply to all your repos, or choose Repository Settings to view the settings that apply to the current Visual Studio project repo.
:::image type="content" source="media/git-config/visual-studio-2019/team-explorer/git-settings.png" border="true" alt-text="Screenshot of Global Settings link and the Repository Settings link in the Settings view of Team Explorer." lightbox="media/git-config/visual-studio-2019/team-explorer/git-settings-lrg.png":::
To view all settings across system, global, and local Git configuration files, run:
git config --listNote
git config --list output won't include local Git configuration file settings unless you run the command at the root folder of a local repo.
System Git configuration file settings apply to all users and repos on your computer. To view those settings, run:
git config --list --systemGlobal Git configuration file settings apply to the current user and their repos. To view those settings, run:
git config --list --globalLocal Git configuration file settings apply to a local repo. To view those settings, run the following command at the root folder of a repo.
git config --list --localYou can view and edit Git configuration settings in Visual Studio or by directly editing the applicable Git configuration file. For more information about Git configuration file settings, see Customizing Git and git-config documentation. In the following sections, we discuss how you can edit each of the listed Git configuration file settings:
- Name and email
- Prune remote branches during fetch
- Rebase local branch when pulling
- Cryptographic network provider
- Diff and merge tools
- Remotes
- Other settings
When you commit changes, Git adds your name and email address to the commit metadata. You can edit the name and email address that Git will use.
Name and email settings are available at the global or repo scope.
[!INCLUDE Name and email]
[!INCLUDE Name and email]
In Team Explorer, choose Settings to open the Settings view. Then choose Global Settings to edit the name and email settings for the current user.
:::image type="content" source="media/git-config/visual-studio-2019/team-explorer/name-email-setting.png" border="true" alt-text="Screenshot of the name and email settings in Global Settings in Team Explorer in Visual Studio 2019." lightbox="media/git-config/visual-studio-2019/team-explorer/name-email-setting-lrg.png":::
Or, choose Repository Settings to edit the name and email settings for the current Visual Studio project repo.
To set your user name and email in a local Git configuration file, run the following commands in the root folder of the local repo.
git config user.name "<user name>"
git config user.email "<email>"By default, this command writes to the local Git configuration file. To write to another file, pass one of the following options: --system, --global, or --file <filepath> to write to a file. For example, to write to the global Git configuration file for the current user, run:
git config --global user.name "Jamal Hartnett"
git config --global user.email "jamal@fabrikam.com"You can tell Git to prune remote branches during every fetch to remove stale remote-tracking branches in your local repo that no longer exist on the corresponding remote repo.
[!INCLUDE Prune remote branches during fetch]
[!INCLUDE Prune remote branches during fetch]
The Prune remote branches during fetch setting corresponds to the git config fetch.prune command. You can specify this setting at the global or repo scope. To keep remote tracking branch lists clean and up to date for all your repos, we recommend that you enable this option at the global level.
In Team Explorer, choose Settings to open the Settings view. Then choose Global Settings to edit the Prune remote branches during fetch option for the current user.
:::image type="content" source="media/git-config/visual-studio-2019/team-explorer/prune-setting.png" border="true" alt-text="Screenshot of the Prune remote branches during fetch setting in Global Settings in Team Explorer in Visual Studio 2019." lightbox="media/git-config/visual-studio-2019/team-explorer/prune-setting-lrg.png":::
Or, choose Repository Settings to edit the Prune remote branches during fetch setting for the current Visual Studio project repo.
Valid values are:
True(recommended)FalseUnset(default)
To keep remote tracking branch lists clean and up to date for all your repos, we recommend that you enable this option at the global level, by running:
git config --global fetch.prune trueValid values are:
true(recommended)false(default whenfetch.pruneisn't specified in Git configuration files)
You can choose to rebase your local branch when pulling to replay the changes in your local branch on top of the remote branch history.
[!INCLUDE Rebase local branch when pulling]
[!INCLUDE Rebase local branch when pulling]
The Rebase local branch when pulling setting corresponds to the git config pull.rebase command. You can specify this setting at the global or repo scope.
In Team Explorer, choose Settings to open the Settings view. Then choose Global Settings to edit the Rebase local branch when pulling option for the current user.
:::image type="content" source="media/git-config/visual-studio-2019/team-explorer/rebase-setting.png" border="true" alt-text="Screenshot of the rebase setting in Global Settings in Team Explorer in Visual Studio 2019." lightbox="media/git-config/visual-studio-2019/team-explorer/rebase-setting-lrg.png":::
Or, choose Repository Settings to edit the Rebase local branch when pulling option for the current Visual Studio project repo.
Valid values are:
True: rebase the current branch on top of the remote branch after fetch.False: merge the remote branch into the current branch.Merges: rebase without flattening locally created merge commits.Unset(default): unless specified otherwise in a Git configuration file, merge the remote branch into the current branch.
Open a command prompt and run:
git config [--local|--global|--system] pull.rebase [true|false|interactive|preserve]Valid values are:
true: rebase current branch on top of upstream branch after fetch.false: merge the current branch into the upstream branch.interactive: rebase in interactive mode.preserve: rebase without flattening locally created merge commits.
You can specify the cryptographic network provider as the TLS/SSL backend that Git will use at runtime.
[!INCLUDE Cryptographic network provider]
[!INCLUDE Cryptographic network provider]
The Cryptographic network provider setting corresponds to the git config http.sslBackend command. This setting is only available at the global scope.
In Team Explorer, choose Settings to open the Settings view. Then choose Global Settings to edit the Cryptographic network provider option for the current user.
:::image type="content" source="media/git-config/visual-studio-2019/team-explorer/network-provider-setting.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the Cryptographic network provider setting with OpenSSL selected in Team Explorer in Visual Studio 2017." lightbox="media/git-config/visual-studio-2019/team-explorer/network-provider-setting-lrg.png":::
Valid values are:
OpenSSL: use OpenSSL for TLS and SSL protocols.Secure Channel: use Secure Channel for TLS and SSL protocols. Secure Channel is the native Windows solution that contains a set of security protocols that provide identity authentication and secure, private communication through encryption.Unset(default): if this setting is unset, the Cryptographic network provider defaults to OpenSSL.
Open a command prompt and run:
git config --global http.sslBackend [openssl|schannel]Valid values are:
openssl: use OpenSSL for TLS and SSL protocols.schannel: use Secure Channel for TLS and SSL protocols. Secure Channel is the native Windows solution that contains a set of security protocols that provide identity authentication and secure, private communication through encryption.
When Visual Studio performs a remote Git operation, the remote endpoint might reject the request because it requires credentials for the request. When that happens, Git invokes a credential helper to obtain the necessary credentials and then retries the request. You can specify the credential helper that Git will use.
[!INCLUDE Credential helper]
[!INCLUDE Credential helper]
Use the Visual Studio 2019 - Git menu procedure.
Open a command prompt and run:
git config credential.helper [cache|store]Valid values are:
cache: in-memory credential storage.store: credentials stored in a plain-text file.git-credentialsor specify a different file by using the--fileoption.
For more information about setting a credential helper, see Git Tools - Credential Storage and credential.helper.
You can specify which tools Git will use to display diffs or merge conflicts.
[!INCLUDE Diff and merge tools]
[!INCLUDE Diff and merge tools]
The diff and merge tool settings correspond to the git config diff.tool and git config merge.tool commands. You can set Visual Studio as the merge or diff tool, or configure other diff and merge tools from the Git command line. You can specify diff and merge tool settings at the global or repository scope.
In Team Explorer, choose Settings to open the Settings view. Then choose Global Settings to edit the diff and merge tool settings for the current user.
:::image type="content" source="media/git-config/visual-studio-2019/team-explorer/tools-setting.png" alt-text="Screenshot showing the diff and merge tool settings in Team Explorer in Visual Studio 2019." lightbox="media/git-config/visual-studio-2019/team-explorer/tools-setting-lrg.png":::
Or, choose Repository Settings to edit the diff and merge tool settings for the current Visual Studio project repo.
Valid diff and merge tools are:
Visual StudioNone(default)
To configure other diff and merge tool settings, use the Git command line.
Open a command prompt and run:
git config --global diff.tool <diff tool>
git config --global merge.tool <merge tool>To get a list of valid diff tools, run: git difftool --tool-help
To get a list of valid merge tools, run: git mergetool --tool-help
For more information on diff and merge tool options, see diff.tool and merge.tool.
You can use the Remotes pane under Git Repository Settings to add, edit, or remove remotes for your repository. This setting corresponds to the git remote add command. The Remotes pane is only available at the repository scope.
When you clone a remote repo, Git assigns the alias origin as shorthand for the URL of the remote repo you cloned. For convenience, you can add another alias named upstream for the repo you forked from, which is referred to as the upstream repo. The following steps describe how to add an upstream alias.
[!INCLUDE Remotes]
[!INCLUDE Remotes]
Use the Visual Studio 2019 - Git menu procedure.
On the command line, navigate to the root folder of your local repo, and then run the following command to add a new remote named upstream. Replace <clone URL> with the Git clone URL of the repo you forked.
git remote add upstream <clone URL>For example, git remote add upstream https://fiber-teams@dev.azure.com/fiber-teams/FiberTests/_git/FiberTests adds an upstream alias.
To edit an existing upstream alias, run the following command:
git remote set-url upstream <clone URL>Tip
For convenience, you can use the origin and upstream aliases instead of their corresponding URLs in your Git commands.
For more information about configuring remotes, see git remote.
To view all of other Git configuration settings, you can open and view the Git configuration files themselves, or you can run git config --list to display the settings.
The following settings manage Git-related preferences in Visual Studio. You can only view and edit these settings from within Visual Studio.
- Default repository location
- Close open solutions not under Git when opening a repository
- Enable download of author images from third-party sources
- Commit changes after merge by default
- Enable push --force-with-lease
- Open folder in Solution Explorer when opening a Git repository
- Automatically load the solution when opening a Git repository
- Automatically check out branches with double-click or the Enter key
- Edit Git ignore and attributes files
For more information about how to access Visual Studio Git-related settings, see Explore Git settings. Next, we discuss how you can edit each of these Visual Studio Git-related settings.
You can set the default repository folder in which Visual Studio will clone repos.
[!INCLUDE Default repository location]
[!INCLUDE Default repository location]
The Default repository location setting is only available at the global scope.
In Team Explorer, choose Settings to open the Settings view. Then choose Global Settings to set the default repository location for the current user.
:::image type="content" source="media/git-config/visual-studio-2019/team-explorer/default-location-setting.png" alt-text="Screenshot showing the default location field in Team Explorer in Visual Studio 2019." lightbox="media/git-config/visual-studio-2019/team-explorer/default-location-setting-lrg.png":::
You can only view and modify this setting in Visual Studio.
By default, Visual Studio closes any open solution or folder in a Git repo when you switch to a different repo. The Close open solutions not under Git when opening a repository setting keeps the open solution or folder consistent with the selected repo. However, if your solution or folder isn't inside a repo, you might want to keep the solution open when you switch repository. You can do that with this setting.
Tip
If you pair this setting with Automatically load the solution when opening a Git repository, then Visual Studio will open the solution for the Git repo you're switching to.
[!INCLUDE Close open solutions not under Git when opening a repository]
[!INCLUDE Close open solutions not under Git when opening a repository]
The Close open solutions not under Git when opening a repository setting is only available at the global scope.
Use the Visual Studio 2019 - Git menu procedure.
You can only view and modify this setting in Visual Studio 2019 or later.
When enabled, Visual Studio will download an author image from the Gravatar image service for display in the commit and history views. If you haven't configured a Gravatar image, the Gravatar image service will return a randomly generated image for you.
Important
To provide author images in the commit and history views, Visual Studio creates an MD5 hash using the author email address stored in the active repository and sends that hash to Gravatar. If Gravatar finds a user with a matching hash, Visual Studio will retrieve and display the user's image. Microsoft doesn't record or share email addresses with Gravatar or any other third-party.
[!INCLUDE Enable download of author images from third-party sources]
[!INCLUDE Enable download of author images from third-party sources]
The Enable download of author images from third-party sources setting is only available at the global scope.
In Team Explorer, choose Settings to open the Settings view. Then choose Global Settings to choose whether to enable download of author images from third-party sources.
:::image type="content" source="media/git-config/visual-studio-2019/team-explorer/download-image-setting.png" alt-text="Screenshot showing the checkbox to enable download of author images from third-party source in Team Explorer in Visual Studio 2019." lightbox="media/git-config/visual-studio-2019/team-explorer/download-image-setting-lrg.png":::
You can only view and modify this setting in Visual Studio.
With Commit changes after merge by default enabled, Git automatically creates a new commit on branch merge.
- When checked, all
git mergecommands issued by Visual Studio are run with the--commitoption. - When unchecked, all
git mergecommands issued by Visual Studio are run with the--no-commit --no-ffoptions.
For more information on these merge options, see --commit and --no-commit and --no-ff.
[!INCLUDE Commit changes after merge by default]
[!INCLUDE Commit changes after merge by default]
The Commit changes after merge by default setting is only available at the global scope.
In Team Explorer, choose Settings to open the Settings view. Then choose Global Settings to choose whether to commit changes after merge by default.
:::image type="content" source="media/git-config/visual-studio-2019/team-explorer/merge-commit-setting.png" alt-text="Screenshot showing the checkbox to commit changes after merge by default in Team Explorer in Visual Studio 2019." lightbox="media/git-config/visual-studio-2019/team-explorer/merge-commit-setting-lrg.png":::
You can only view and modify this setting in Visual Studio.
With this setting enabled, you can push changes that overwrite work in a remote branch—if no one else has pushed to the remote branch since your last pull.
[!INCLUDE Enable push --force-with-lease]
[!INCLUDE Enable push --force-with-lease]
The Enable push --force option corresponds to the push --force command. This setting is only available at the global scope. By default, this setting is disabled.
In Team Explorer, choose Settings to open the Settings view. Then choose Global Settings to choose whether to enable push --force.
:::image type="content" source="media/git-config/visual-studio-2019/team-explorer/push-force-setting.png" alt-text="Screenshot showing the checkbox to enable push force with lease in Team Explorer in Visual Studio 2019." lightbox="media/git-config/visual-studio-2019/team-explorer/push-force-setting-lrg.png":::
You can only view and modify this setting in Visual Studio.
When enabled and you open a Git repo in Visual Studio, Visual Studio will scan the repository folder for solutions, CMakeLists.txt, or other view files and display them as a list in Solution Explorer. You can then load a solution or view the contents of a folder. This setting is enabled by default.
When disabled and you open a Git repo in Visual Studio, Visual Studio won't open the repo folder in Solution Explorer and is only a Git repo manager.
[!INCLUDE Open folder in Solution Explorer when opening a Git repository]
[!INCLUDE Open folder in Solution Explorer when opening a Git repository]
Use the Visual Studio 2019 - Git menu procedure.
You can only view and modify this setting in Visual Studio 2019 or later.
The Automatically load the solution when opening a Git repository setting is applicable only if the Open folder in Solution Explorer when opening a Git repository setting is also enabled. When you open a Git repository in Visual Studio, and the subsequent folder scan detects there's only one solution present in your repository, then Visual Studio automatically loads that solution. If you turn off this setting, then Solution Explorer will display the single solution present in the repository in the list of views, but won't load the solution. This setting is disabled by default
[!INCLUDE Automatically load the solution when opening a Git repository]
[!INCLUDE Automatically load the solution when opening a Git repository]
Use the Visual Studio 2019 - Git menu procedure.
You can only view and modify this setting in Visual Studio 2019 or later.
The Git Repository window has a list of branches displayed in a tree structure. Select a branch to switch the commit history pane to display the commits for that branch. To check out a branch, right-click to open the context menu and choose Checkout. With the Automatically check out branches with double-click or the Enter key setting enabled, you can double-click or select the Enter key to check out a branch and display its commits.
[!INCLUDE Automatically check out branches with double-click or the Enter key]
[!INCLUDE Automatically check out branches with double-click or the Enter key]
Use the Visual Studio 2019 - Git menu procedure.
You can only view and modify this setting in Visual Studio 2019 or later.
Visual Studio provides a quick way to add or edit gitignore and gitattributes files at the root of your repo.
[!INCLUDE Edit Git ignore and attributes files]
[!INCLUDE Edit Git ignore and attributes files]
The option to add or edit a gitignore or gitattributes file is only available at the repository scope.
In Team Explorer, choose Settings to open the Settings view. In that view, select Repository and choose Edit to open the ignore or attribute file for the current project repo in a Visual Studio editor window.
:::image type="content" source="media/git-config/visual-studio-2019/team-explorer/git-files-setting.png" border="false" alt-text="Screenshot showing the Edit buttons for the ignore or attribute files in Team Explorer in Visual Studio 2019." lightbox="media/git-config/visual-studio-2019/team-explorer/git-files-setting-lrg.png":::
Open and edit the .gitignore or .gitattributes files in an editor.
For information about how to configure .gitignore and .gitattributes files, see gitignore and gitattributes.
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