The “git credential” command is a Git subcommand used to manage the retrieval and storage of user credentials. It is primarily used for handling authentication with remote Git repositories that require authentication, such as HTTPS or SSH-based repositories.
When you interact with a remote repository that requires authentication, such as when you clone, push, or pull from a repository, Git may prompt you to enter your credentials, such as a username and password or an SSH key passphrase. Git provides the “git credential” command to help manage and store these credentials securely, so you don’t have to repeatedly enter them for subsequent interactions with the remote repository.
The “git credential” command operates as an interface to a credential helper program, which is responsible for retrieving and storing the user credentials. The credential helper program can be a system-level utility or a custom script that you configure to handle credential management.
The “git credential” command provides several subcommands, including:
- “git credential fill“: This subcommand is used by Git to request the credential helper to fill in the stored credentials for a given URL. It typically outputs the stored username and password or other authentication information, which Git then uses to authenticate with the remote repository.
- “git credential approve“: This subcommand is used to approve or reject a credential provided by the credential helper. It is used by Git to confirm the validity of the retrieved credentials.
- “git credential reject“: This subcommand is used to reject a credential provided by the credential helper. It is used by Git to indicate that the provided credentials are invalid or rejected.
The behavior of the “git credential” command and the available subcommands may vary depending on the configured credential helper and the specific Git version you are using.
To configure and manage credential helpers, you can modify the Git configuration settings either at the repository level (using “git config” with the “–local” option) or globally (using “git config” with the “–global” option). The configuration settings specify the command or script to be used as the credential helper.
git credential Command Examples
1. Display credential information, retrieving the username and password from configuration files:
# echo "url=http://example.com" | git credential fill
2. Send credential information to all configured credential helpers to store for later use:
# echo "url=http://example.com" | git credential approve
3. Erase the specified credential information from all the configured credential helpers:
# echo "url=http://example.com" | git credential reject
Summary
Overall, the “git credential” command provides a convenient way to retrieve and store user credentials securely, enabling smoother authentication with remote Git repositories.