Creating a commit with multiple authors or on behalf of an organization

Attribute commits to multiple authors or organizations using trailers in commit messages for better collaboration and transparency.

In this article

Creating a commit with multiple authors

Add one or more Co-authored-by trailers to a commit message to attribute a commit to multiple authors.

Required co-author information

Before adding a co-author, get the email address they want used in the trailer. For the commit to count as a contribution, use an email address associated with their account on GitHub.com.

If a co-author keeps their email address private, use their GitHub-provided no-reply email. See Setting your commit email address.

Creating co-authored commits using GitHub Desktop

You can use GitHub Desktop to create a commit with a co-author. See Committing and reviewing changes to your project in GitHub Desktop and GitHub Desktop.

Creating co-authored commits on the command line

  1. Collect the name and email address for each co-author. If a person chooses to keep their email address private, you should use their GitHub-provided no-reply email to protect their privacy.

  2. Type your commit message and a short, meaningful description of your changes. After your commit description, add an empty line instead of a closing quotation mark.

    $ git commit -m "Refactor usability tests.
>
>

  3. Add one Co-authored-by: name <name@example.com> line for each co-author, then add the closing quotation mark.

    $ git commit -m "Refactor usability tests.
>
> Co-authored-by: NAME <NAME@EXAMPLE.COM>
> Co-authored-by: ANOTHER-NAME <ANOTHER-NAME@EXAMPLE.COM>"

The new commit and message appear on GitHub.com after you push. See Pushing commits to a remote repository.

Creating co-authored commits on GitHub

After you make changes in a file using the web editor on GitHub, add co-author trailers before you commit.

  1. Collect the name and email address for each co-author. If a person chooses to keep their email address private, you should use their GitHub-provided no-reply email to protect their privacy.
  2. Click Commit changes...
  3. In the "Commit message" field, type a short, meaningful commit message that describes the changes you made.
  4. In the text box below your commit message, add one Co-authored-by: name <name@example.com> line for each co-author.
  5. Click Commit changes or Propose changes.

The new commit and message appear on GitHub.com.

Creating a commit on behalf of an organization

Note

Creating a commit on behalf of an organization is not available on GitHub Enterprise Server.

Add an on-behalf-of: trailer to a signed commit to attribute it to an organization. To use the trailer, you must be a member of the organization, and both your commit email and the organization email must be in a domain verified by the organization.

Creating commits with an on-behalf-of badge on the command line

  1. Type your commit message and a short, meaningful description of your changes. After your commit description, add two empty lines instead of a closing quotation mark.

    $ git commit -m "Refactor usability tests.
>
>

  2. Add on-behalf-of: @org <name@organization.com>, then add the closing quotation mark.

    $ git commit -m "Refactor usability tests.
>
>
on-behalf-of: @ORG NAME@ORGANIZATION.COM"

The new commit, message, and badge appear on GitHub after you push. See Pushing commits to a remote repository.

Creating commits with an on-behalf-of badge on GitHub

After you make changes in a file using the web editor on GitHub, add the organization trailer before you commit.

  1. Click Commit changes...
  2. In the "Commit message" field, type a short, meaningful commit message that describes the changes you made.
  3. In the text box below your commit message, add on-behalf-of: @org <name@organization.com>.
  4. Click Commit changes or Propose changes.

The new commit, message, and badge appear on GitHub.

Further reading