> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://til.aldrinjenson.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://til.aldrinjenson.com/tools-and-workflow/changing-git-commit-email-address.md).

# Changing git commit email address

To change the email address for all commits in your Git repository to a new correct one, you can use the `git filter-branch` command. Here's a step-by-step process:

1. First, ensure you have the correct email set for future commits:

   ```
   git config user.email "your-new-correct-email@example.com"
   ```
2. Then, run the following command to rewrite the history:

   ```
   git filter-branch --env-filter '
   OLD_EMAIL="your-old-incorrect-email@example.com"
   CORRECT_EMAIL="your-new-correct-email@example.com"
   if [ "$GIT_COMMITTER_EMAIL" = "$OLD_EMAIL" ]
   then
       export GIT_COMMITTER_EMAIL="$CORRECT_EMAIL"
   fi
   if [ "$GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL" = "$OLD_EMAIL" ]
   then
       export GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL="$CORRECT_EMAIL"
   fi
   ' --tag-name-filter cat -- --branches --tags
   ```

   \
   Replace `your-old-incorrect-email@example.com` with the wrong email you used, and `your-new-correct-email@example.com` with your correct email.\\
3. After running this command, Git will rewrite your repository's history, changing the email address for all commits.\\
4. If you've already pushed your commits to a remote repository, you'll need to force push the changes:

   ```
   git push --force --tags origin 'refs/heads/*'
   ```

Be cautious with this operation, especially if you're working on a shared repository, as it rewrites history. This can cause issues for other contributors if they've based work on the old history.

source: Claude sonnet 3.5 :)