I was about to leave GitHub Desktop because it doesn't support multiple accounts — but then I found this fork, and it's exactly what I needed. Thank you for maintaining it!

Problem source

However, one thing was missing for my workflow: I work with two different GitHub accounts (personal and work), and I use includeIf in my git config to automatically switch user.name and user.email depending on the project directory. Several times I accidentally pushed commits to personal projects under my work identity — simply because there was no visible indication of which credentials would be used.

The avatar alone isn't always enough to tell accounts apart - not everyone has a distinct avatar set up, and the name/email are what actually end up in the commit. And if such a commit makes it into the repository, removing the committer from the contributors list on the main page is practically impossible — the only way is to delete the repository entirely.

My setup example

I don't set user.name/user.email in my global ~/.gitconfig at all. Instead, I use includeIf to load different identities based on the project directory:

# File ~/.gitconfig without global name and email

[includeIf "gitdir:D:/Work/personal/"]
    path = D:/Work/personal/.gitconfig_personal

[includeIf "gitdir:F:/Work/company/"]
    path = F:/Work/company/.gitconfig_work

Each included file sets its own user.name and user.email. Without this feature, there was no way to tell which identity GitHub Desktop would use for the next commit.

Description

This PR displays the resolved user.name and user.email above the commit summary field, along with tooltips indicating which git config file each value comes from (global, includeIf, local). The feature is controlled by a toggle in Preferences > Git > Author and is disabled by default.

This PR adds an optional setting (Preferences > Git > Author > "Show effective identity and config scope above commit message") that:

1. Moves the avatar above the summary field and displays the resolved user.name and user.email next to it
2. Shows an interactive tooltip on hover with the scope and file path of each value, distinguishing between:

• global (standard ~/.gitconfig)
• global, via [includeIf] (conditionally included file)
• and local (.git/config)

The setting is disabled by default, so existing users won't notice any changes unless they opt in. I tried to keep the diff minimal and follow the existing code patterns.

Screenshots

Before change - avatar inline with title, without name and email

Added setting in Preferences -> Git -> Author (disabled by default):

After enabling — avatar, name, and email are always visible above the summary:

Scopes

1. Simple global

Hovering over the details reveals the exact config file. This is how a simple global config is detected:

2. includeIf

Notice how it correctly resolves and displays conditional global configs applied via includeIf.

3. Local

Example with local repository overrides: the tooltip accurately reflects when the credentials are being pulled from the local .git/config file instead of the global settings.

4. System

Repo config

Repository settings also show the resolved identity with clickable file paths - useful when an includeIf directive applies, since the form fields may not reflect the actual effective values.

Release notes

Notes: Adds optional display of commit author name, email, and their git config source above the summary field (Preferences -> Git -> Author).