How to check commit authorship in GitHub?

 

Step 1: Access the GitHub Repository

 

First, open your web browser and navigate to the GitHub repository where you want to check commit authorship. Ensure you are signed in to your GitHub account if the repository is private.

 

Step 2: Open the Commits History

 

Click on the “Commits” link, typically found above the list of files in the default branch (e.g., main or master). It may look like this:

https://github.com/your-username/your-repo/commits/main

This page displays the full history of commits made to the default branch.

 

Step 3: Identify the Commit of Interest

 

Scroll through the list or use the search bar (press “t” to open file finder, or browser search) to locate the specific commit. Each entry shows:

• The abbreviated commit hash (e.g., f3a1b2c).
• The commit message.
• The author’s GitHub avatar and username.
• The commit date.

Click on the commit message or the commit hash to view detailed information.

 

Step 4: View Commit Details in GitHub UI

 

On the commit detail page, you’ll see two main sections for authorship:

• Author: The person who originally wrote the code.
• Committer: The person who last applied the commit to the repository.

GitHub displays both author and committer by username and avatar, for example:

Author:    JaneDoe [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])
Committer: JohnSmith [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])

If author and committer are the same, GitHub will show only one combined entry.

 

Step 5: Check Commit Authorship Locally Using Git

 

If you have a local clone of the repository, open your terminal or Git Bash and navigate into the project folder:

cd path/to/your-repo

Run the following command to display detailed commit information:

git log --pretty=fuller

You’ll see output like this:

commit f3a1b2c4d5e6f7g8h9i0j
Author:     Jane Doe [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])
AuthorDate: Tue Feb 20 10:15:00 2024 -0500
Commit:     John Smith [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])
CommitDate: Tue Feb 20 11:00:00 2024 -0500

    Fix typo in README.md

Here, Jane Doe is the author and John Smith is the committer.

 

Step 6: Use Git Blame to Find Line-Level Authorship

 

To see who last modified each line in a file, use the git blame command:

git blame README.md

This shows each line prefixed by the commit hash, author, and date:

f3a1b2c4 (Jane Doe    2024-02-20 10:15:00 -0500) # Project Title
a7b8c9d0 (John Smith  2024-01-15 09:00:00 -0500) A short description of the project.

 

Step 7: Compare Author vs Committer Roles

 

• Author: The original creator of the changes. Set by git commit --author="Name " or by configuring user.name and user.email in Git global or local config.
• Committer: The person who actually applied the changes to the repository. This can differ when patches are applied by someone else or when using GitHub’s web editor.

To set a specific author when committing locally:

git commit --author="Alice Example [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])" -m "Add feature X"

 

Step 8: Use the GitHub API to Retrieve Commit Authorship

 

For automation or scripts, use the GitHub REST API. Send a GET request to:

https://api.github.com/repos/your-username/your-repo/commits/f3a1b2c4d5e6f7g8h9i0j

You will receive a JSON response containing both author and committer objects:

{
  "author": {
    "login": "janedoe",
    "id": 123456,
    "email": "[email protected]"
  },
  "committer": {
    "login": "johnsmith",
    "id": 789012,
    "email": "[email protected]"
  },
  ...
}

 

Step 9: Troubleshoot Common Authorship Issues

 

• If your commits show “Unknown Author,” ensure your local Git user.name and user.email are set:

  
  git config --global user.name "Your Name"
  git config --global user.email "[email protected]"
      

• If using multiple email addresses, add them to your GitHub account settings to link commits to your profile.
• Verify that you’re pushing to the correct repository and branch to avoid confusing history.

 

Step 10: Summary

 

By following these steps, you can confidently check who authored and who committed each change in a GitHub repository—both through the GitHub web interface and your local Git environment, as well as via automated API requests. This ensures transparency and accountability in collaborative projects.