github-app-git-identity

name

github-app-git-identity

description

Manually configure the GitHub App bot git identity the way the github-app plugin's SessionStart hook does — resolve the app slug and bot user ID, build the <slug>[bot] name and noreply email, set GIT_AUTHOR_*/GIT_COMMITTER_* env vars, and write an isolated GIT_CONFIG_GLOBAL with the gh auth git-credential helper. Use when commits are attributed to the wrong account, "Author identity unknown" appears, or git identity must be set up by hand. <example>my commits are showing up as the handler, not the bot</example> <example>git says Author identity unknown after the github-app hook ran</example> <example>configure the github app bot git identity manually</example> <example>set up the gh credential helper for git push</example>

GitHub App Git Identity (Manual)

This skill reproduces configure_git_identity_env from the github-app SessionStart hook (hooks/scripts/github-token-init.sh) by hand. The end state is: commits authored as <app-slug>[bot] with the correct GitHub noreply email (so GitHub attributes them to the bot account), plus an isolated GIT_CONFIG_GLOBAL whose credential.helper is !gh auth git-credential.

This is the identity/credential layer. For making the token usable in the session (PEM, env file, CLAUDE_ENV_FILE, GH_CONFIG_DIR) use the github-app-session-env skill first — a valid token + metadata must already exist before identity can be resolved.

When To Use

• Commits are attributed to the handler/host user instead of the bot.
• git commit fails with Author identity unknown.
• The hook logged Could not resolve bot user ID and refused to set identity.
• A git push needs the gh auth git-credential helper wired up manually.

The One Subtlety That Matters (BUG-7)

The App ID is not the bot user ID. Commits whose noreply email embeds the App ID are silently not attributed to the bot on GitHub. The correct email uses the bot user's numeric ID from the public /users/<slug>[bot] endpoint, which must be called with no Authorization header. Full rationale and the fail-loud reasoning are in references/bot-identity-internals.md.

Prerequisites

A token and its metadata already exist (run github-app-session-env if not):

CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA="${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA:-$HOME/.claude/plugins/data/github-app-ai-mktpl}"
META_FILE="$CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA/github-token.meta"
test -f "$META_FILE" && echo "metadata present" || echo "run github-app-session-env first"

Procedure

Step 1 — Read app slug and bot ID from metadata

bin/generate-token.sh already resolves these (it holds JWT auth needed for the /app endpoint) and stores them in the metadata file:

app_slug="$(jq -r '.app_slug // empty' "$META_FILE")"
bot_id="$(jq -r '.bot_id // empty' "$META_FILE")"
echo "slug=$app_slug bot_id=$bot_id"

If app_slug is empty, regenerate the token so metadata is repopulated (bin/token-check.sh --sync, or delete github-token.meta and regenerate).

Step 2 — Resolve bot_id at runtime if missing

Older metadata or an API hiccup at generation time can leave bot_id empty. Resolve it via the public users endpoint — do not send an auth header (a bearer token there returns 401):

if [[ -z "$bot_id" && -n "$app_slug" ]]; then
  bot_id="$(curl -s -H 'Accept: application/vnd.github+json' \
    "https://api.github.com/users/${app_slug}%5Bbot%5D" | jq -r '.id // empty')"
  echo "resolved bot_id=$bot_id"
fi

If bot_id still cannot be resolved, stop — do not fall back to the App ID. Fix network/API access and retry. See the reference doc for why miscredited commits are worse than failing loud.

Step 3 — Build the identity values

bot_name="${app_slug}[bot]"
bot_email="${bot_id}+${app_slug}[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
echo "$bot_name <$bot_email>"

Step 4 — Set env vars + write the isolated gitconfig

Export the identity (these take precedence over gitconfig) and reuse the plugin's write_git_config_global helper, which writes an isolated GIT_CONFIG_GLOBAL with the [user] block and the gh auth git-credential helper. write_git_config_global reads GIT_AUTHOR_NAME/GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL and the target GIT_CONFIG_GLOBAL path from the environment:

export GIT_AUTHOR_NAME="$bot_name"
export GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL="$bot_email"
export GIT_COMMITTER_NAME="$bot_name"
export GIT_COMMITTER_EMAIL="$bot_email"
export GIT_CONFIG_GLOBAL="$CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA/git/config"

source "$CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT/lib/env-file.sh"
write_git_config_global        # writes [user] + credential.helper = !gh auth git-credential

write_git_config_global requires gh on PATH (it returns non-zero and writes no [credential] section otherwise). It does not embed a token or a versioned script path — gh reads GH_TOKEN from the env at credential time.

Step 5 — Persist a stable identity file + wire CLAUDE_ENV_FILE

Write the stable identity file (not overwritten by token refresh) and re-write the runtime env file so the GIT_* vars are captured, then wire both into CLAUDE_ENV_FILE:

export TOKEN_FILE="$CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA/github-token"
export ENV_RUNTIME_FILE="$CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA/github-app-env"

write_git_identity_file "$bot_name" "$bot_email"   # -> $CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA/github-git-identity
write_runtime_env_file "$(cat "$TOKEN_FILE")"      # re-capture GIT_* into the env file

if [[ -n "${CLAUDE_ENV_FILE:-}" ]]; then
  echo "export GIT_CONFIG_GLOBAL=\"$GIT_CONFIG_GLOBAL\"" >> "$CLAUDE_ENV_FILE"
  echo "source \"$CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA/github-git-identity\"" >> "$CLAUDE_ENV_FILE"
fi

Verify

git var GIT_AUTHOR_IDENT     # -> <slug>[bot] <id+slug[bot]@users.noreply.github.com> ...
git config --get user.email  # matches bot_email (reads isolated GIT_CONFIG_GLOBAL)

# Bot account check (never print the raw token)
GH_TOKEN="$(cat "$CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA/github-token")" gh api /user --jq '.login'
# Expected: <slug>[bot]

After a real commit, git log -1 --format='%an <%ae>' should show the bot identity, and the commit should be attributed to the bot account on GitHub.

Common Failures

Symptom	Likely cause
Commits credited to the handler	GIT_CONFIG_GLOBAL not isolated, or host ~/.gitconfig leaking — redo Step 4
Commits not linked to the bot on GitHub	Email used App ID instead of bot user ID — re-resolve bot_id (Steps 2–3)
Author identity unknown	Identity never set — run Steps 3–4
write_git_config_global writes no [credential] section	gh not on PATH — install/expose gh, re-run
/users/<slug>[bot] returns 401	An Authorization header was sent — it must be called unauthenticated

Related

• github-app-session-env — PEM, token, env file, CLAUDE_ENV_FILE, GH_CONFIG_DIR
• github-app-token — token generation, refresh, status
• references/bot-identity-internals.md — why App ID ≠ bot user ID, the unauthenticated-endpoint rule, fail-loud rationale
• Plugin source: lib/env-file.sh (write_git_config_global, write_git_identity_file), bin/generate-token.sh, hooks/scripts/github-token-init.sh