git-pair 0.3.0

A Git extension for managing pair programming sessions with per-branch co-author configuration
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git-pair

A Git extension for managing pair programming sessions. Easily configure Git to commit with multiple authors when pair programming.

Overview

git-pair helps teams that practice pair programming by simplifying the process of attributing commits to multiple authors. It provides a clean interface to manage co-authors and automatically formats commit messages with proper Co-authored-by trailers.

Features

  • 🤝 Easy pair setup: Quickly initialize and configure pair programming sessions
  • 🌿 Per-branch co-authors: Different co-authors for different branches - perfect for feature teams
  • 👥 Multiple authors: Add multiple co-authors to your commits
  • 🔄 Automatic switching: Co-authors change automatically when you switch branches
  • ⚡ Global roster: Save frequently used co-authors with aliases for quick access across all repositories
  • 🧹 Flexible co-author management: Remove individual co-authors or clear all at once
  • 📝 Proper attribution: Follows Git's standard Co-authored-by trailer format
  • ⚡ Fast and lightweight: Written in Rust for optimal performance
  • 🎯 Branch isolation: Complete separation of co-author configuration between branches

Installation

Quick Install (Recommended)

Install git-pair with a single command:

curl -sSf https://raw.githubusercontent.com/michaldarda/git-pair/master/install.sh | sh

Or with wget:

wget -qO- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/michaldarda/git-pair/master/install.sh | sh

This will:

  • 🔍 Auto-detect your platform (Linux, macOS, Windows)
  • 📦 Download the latest release binary
  • 🔧 Install to ~/.local/bin/git-pair
  • 📋 Provide instructions to add to your PATH

Manual Installation

Download from Releases

  1. Go to Releases
  2. Download the appropriate binary for your platform
  3. Extract and place in your PATH

From Source

git clone https://github.com/michaldarda/git-pair.git
cd git-pair
cargo build --release
cp target/release/git-pair ~/.local/bin/

Using Cargo

cargo install git-pair

Uninstall

curl -sSf https://raw.githubusercontent.com/michaldarda/git-pair/master/uninstall.sh | sh

Usage

Initialize Pair Programming Session

git pair init

Initializes pair programming mode for the current branch. Each branch maintains its own co-author configuration, allowing different teams to work on different features simultaneously.

Add Co-authors

# Add co-authors directly
git pair add "Jane Doe" jane.doe@company.com
git pair add "John Smith" john.smith@company.com

# Or add from global roster using aliases
git pair add jane    # Adds Jane Doe from global roster
git pair add john    # Adds John Smith from global roster

Adds co-authors to the current branch's pair programming session. Co-authors are branch-specific, so switching branches will use different co-author configurations.

Remove Specific Co-authors

# Remove by name
git pair remove "Jane Doe"

# Remove by email
git pair remove jane.doe@company.com

# Remove by global alias
git pair remove jane

Removes specific co-authors from the current branch while keeping others. Supports flexible removal by name, email address, or global roster alias. The Git hook is automatically updated to reflect the changes, or removed entirely if no co-authors remain.

Clear Pair Configuration

git pair clear

Removes all co-authors from the current branch and exits pair programming mode for this branch, returning to solo development. Other branches maintain their own co-author configurations.

View Current Pair Status

git pair status

Displays the currently configured co-authors and pair programming status.

Help and Version

git pair --help     # Show comprehensive help
git pair --version  # Show version information

How It Works

git-pair uses per-branch configuration to manage co-authors. When you add co-authors using git pair add, the tool creates a branch-specific configuration file and installs a Git hook that automatically includes Co-authored-by trailers in your commit messages.

Per-Branch Configuration

Each branch gets its own co-author configuration:

  • main branch → .git/git-pair/config-main
  • feature/auth branch → .git/git-pair/config-feature_auth
  • bugfix/login branch → .git/git-pair/config-bugfix_login

When you switch branches, the Git hook automatically reads from the correct configuration file, ensuring the right co-authors are added to commits.

Automatic Co-author Attribution

The Git hook runs on every commit and automatically appends co-authors to your commit messages. This follows GitHub's standard for attributing commits to multiple authors.

Example commit message with pair programming:

Implement user authentication feature

Co-authored-by: Jane Doe <jane.doe@company.com>
Co-authored-by: John Smith <john.smith@company.com>

Configuration

git-pair stores its configuration in branch-specific files within .git/git-pair/ directory. This means:

  • Per-branch configuration: Each branch has its own co-authors
  • Branch isolation: Switching branches automatically uses the correct co-authors
  • No global state pollution: Configuration is repository-local
  • Easy branch management: Different teams can work on different branches with their own pair configurations
  • Automatic cleanup: Deleting a branch doesn't affect other branches' configurations

Example configuration structure:

.git/git-pair/
├── config-main                    # Co-authors for main branch
├── config-feature_auth            # Co-authors for feature/auth branch
└── config-bugfix_login            # Co-authors for bugfix/login branch

~/.config/git-pair/
└── roster                         # Global roster of saved co-authors

Per-Branch Benefits

The per-branch co-author system enables powerful workflows:

  • Feature Teams: Different features can have different team members without conflicts
  • Parallel Development: Multiple pairs can work simultaneously on different branches
  • Context Switching: Switch branches and automatically get the right co-authors
  • Team Flexibility: Core team on main, specialists on feature branches
  • Clean History: Each branch's commits reflect the actual contributors to that work

Use Cases

  • Large Teams: Different squads working on different features
  • Open Source: Maintainers on main, contributors on feature branches
  • Client Work: Different client teams on different feature branches
  • Skill-based Pairing: Frontend devs on UI branches, backend devs on API branches

Commands Reference

Command Description
git pair init Initialize pair programming for current branch
git pair add <name> <surname> <email> Add a co-author to the current branch
git pair add <alias> Add co-author from global roster using alias
git pair add --global <alias> <name> <email> Add a co-author to global roster
git pair remove <name|email|alias> Remove a specific co-author from current branch
git pair clear Remove all co-authors from current branch
git pair status Show current branch's pair configuration
git pair list --global Show global roster of saved co-authors
git pair --version, -V Show version information
git pair --help, -h Show help information

Environment Variables

Variable Description Default
GIT_PAIR_ROSTER_FILE Override global roster file location ~/.config/git-pair/roster

Example:

# Use custom roster file for testing or different environments
GIT_PAIR_ROSTER_FILE=/tmp/test-roster git pair add --global test "Test User" test@example.com

Examples

Basic Pair Programming

# Initialize pair programming for current branch
git pair init

# Add your pair programming partner
git pair add "Alice Johnson" alice@company.com

# Make commits as usual - they'll automatically include co-author attribution
git commit -m "Add new feature"

Using Global Roster

# Set up your global roster once
git pair add --global alice "Alice Johnson" alice@company.com
git pair add --global bob "Bob Wilson" bob@company.com
git pair add --global sarah "Sarah Chen" sarah@company.com

# View your roster
git pair list --global
# Output:
# Global roster:
#   alice -> Alice Johnson <alice@company.com>
#   bob -> Bob Wilson <bob@company.com>
#   sarah -> Sarah Chen <sarah@company.com>

# Quick setup in any repository
git pair init
git pair add alice bob    # Adds both Alice and Bob quickly!

# Make commits - co-authors automatically included
git commit -m "Implement new feature"

Per-Branch Team Configuration

# On main branch - set up core team using global roster
git checkout main
git pair init
git pair add alice bob    # Quick add from global roster

# Switch to feature branch - set up feature team
git checkout -b feature/authentication
git pair init
git pair add sarah        # Add Sarah from global roster
git pair add "Carol Davis" carol@company.com  # Add directly

# Commits on feature branch include Sarah and Carol
git commit -m "Implement login system"

# Switch back to main - automatically uses Alice and Bob
git checkout main
git commit -m "Update documentation"

# Each branch maintains its own co-author configuration!

Working with Multiple People (Mob Programming)

# Add multiple co-authors for mob programming on current branch
git pair add bob carol dave    # Mix of roster aliases and direct names
git pair add "Eve Foster" eve@company.com

# Check current branch's status
git pair status

# Remove specific team members as they leave the session
git pair remove dave          # Remove by alias
git pair remove "Eve Foster"  # Remove by name

# Continue working with remaining co-authors
git commit -m "Implement feature together"

Managing Co-authors During Development

# Start with initial team
git pair add alice bob

# Add someone who joins later
git pair add carol

# Remove someone who leaves early
git pair remove alice

# Continue with bob and carol
git commit -m "Complete feature implementation"

Switching Back to Solo Work

# Clear co-authors for current branch only
git pair clear

# Other branches keep their co-author configurations

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request. For major changes, please open an issue first to discuss what you would like to change.

Development Setup

git clone https://github.com/michaldarda/git-pair.git
cd git-pair
cargo build
cargo test

Running Tests

cargo test

Development Scripts

For local development, use these handy scripts:

# Run all checks (formatting, linting, tests, integration tests)
./check.sh

# Apply automatic fixes (formatting, auto-fixable clippy suggestions)
./fix.sh

# Run integration tests only
./integration_test.sh

The check.sh script mirrors what the CI pipeline does and is perfect for ensuring your code is ready before committing.

Contributors

Thank you to all the contributors who have helped make git-pair better:

  • pawelma - Hook management improvements and remove co-author functionality

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Related Tools

Why Another Pair Programming Tool?

While there are existing solutions, git-pair aims to be:

  • Simple: Minimal commands, maximum productivity
  • Per-branch: Unique branch-specific co-author configuration - perfect for teams working on multiple features
  • Global roster: Save frequent collaborators with aliases for lightning-fast setup
  • Fast: Written in Rust for optimal performance
  • Standard: Uses Git's built-in Co-authored-by trailer format
  • Local: Repository-specific configuration without global pollution
  • Isolated: Complete separation between branches allows different team configurations

Made with ❤️ for pair programmers everywhere.