Configure Global Git Settings

Git stores user-wide settings in ~/.gitconfig. The following configuration enables Git LFS, defines the commit identity, configures GPG signing, and applies common macOS-friendly defaults.

Prerequisites

Install Git LFS before enabling its filter. On macOS with Homebrew:

brew install git-lfs
git lfs install

Back up an existing configuration before changing it:

cp ~/.gitconfig ~/.gitconfig.backup

Example `.gitconfig`

Edit ~/.gitconfig and add or update the following sections. Replace the identity, signing key, and GPG path with values from your own system.

[filter "lfs"]
    clean = git-lfs clean -- %f
    smudge = git-lfs smudge -- %f
    process = git-lfs filter-process
    required = true
[user]
    name = YOUR_NAME
    email = ID+USERNAME@users.noreply.github.com
    signingkey = YOUR_GPG_KEY_ID
[gpg]
    program = /opt/homebrew/bin/gpg
[core]
    editor = vim
    autocrlf = input
    ignorecase = false
[commit]
    gpgsign = true

Use command -v gpg to find the correct gpg.program path. Homebrew on Apple Silicon commonly installs it at /opt/homebrew/bin/gpg; Intel Macs commonly use /usr/local/bin/gpg.

Settings Explained

Git LFS Filter

The filter.lfs section lets Git use Git LFS to store large files outside the normal Git object database. required = true causes Git to stop instead of silently saving LFS pointer files when Git LFS is unavailable.

Enable LFS tracking for each file pattern needed by a repository:

git lfs track "*.psd"
git add .gitattributes
git commit -m "chore: track Photoshop files with Git LFS"

Commit Identity and GPG Signing

user.name and user.email define the author information for commits. Use a verified email address; GitHub's no-reply address keeps a personal address private.

user.signingkey selects the GPG key used for signatures, and commit.gpgsign = true signs every commit by default. Confirm the key ID before configuring it:

gpg --list-secret-keys --keyid-format=long
git config --global --get user.signingkey
git config --global --get commit.gpgsign

For key creation, platform setup, and verification, see Sign GitHub and GitLab Commits with GPG.

Core Behavior

core.editor = vim makes Vim the default editor for commit messages and other Git prompts. core.autocrlf = input converts CRLF to LF when committing, while preserving LF files when checking out; it is generally appropriate on macOS and Linux.

core.ignorecase = false makes Git detect case-only filename changes. This is useful on the default case-insensitive macOS filesystem, but collaborators on case-insensitive filesystems should avoid keeping two paths that differ only by letter case.

Verify the Configuration

Inspect the resolved global values after saving the file:

git config --global --list
git config --global --get-regexp '^(filter\.lfs|user\.|gpg\.|core\.|commit\.)'

View the source file of each resolved setting when troubleshooting overrides from repository or system configuration:

git config --list --show-origin

Prerequisites​

Example .gitconfig​

Settings Explained​

Git LFS Filter​

Commit Identity and GPG Signing​

Core Behavior​

Verify the Configuration​