Git ID Switcher

	Switch between multiple Git identities with one click. Automatically configures Git author, SSH keys, and GPG signing.

Features

• One-Click Identity Switch: Change Git user.name and user.email instantly
• SSH Key Management: Automatically switch SSH keys in ssh-agent (optional)
• GPG Signing Support: Configure GPG key for commit signing (optional)
• Submodule Support: Automatically propagate identity to Git submodules
• Status Bar Integration: Always see your current identity at a glance
• Rich Tooltips: Detailed identity info with description and SSH host
• Cross-Platform: Works on macOS, Linux, and Windows

Quick Start (Minimal Setup)

The simplest setup only requires id, name, and email. No SSH or GPG configuration needed.

Step 1: Add to settings.json

Open VS Code Settings (Cmd+, / Ctrl+,) → search "Git ID Switcher" → click "Edit in settings.json", or directly add:

{
  "gitIdSwitcher.identities": [
    {
      "id": "personal",
      "name": "Your Name",
      "email": "you@personal.com"
    },
    {
      "id": "work",
      "name": "Your Name",
      "email": "you@company.com"
    }
  ]
}

Step 2: Use It

1. Click the identity icon in the status bar (bottom right)
2. Select an identity
3. Done! Git config is now switched.

This basic setup changes git config user.name and user.email - that's it.

Optional: Add Visual Identity

Make identities easier to recognize with icons and descriptions:

{
  "gitIdSwitcher.identities": [
    {
      "id": "personal",
      "icon": "🏠",
      "name": "Your Name",
      "email": "you@personal.com",
      "description": "Personal projects"
    },
    {
      "id": "work",
      "icon": "💼",
      "name": "Your Name",
      "email": "you@company.com",
      "description": "Work account"
    }
  ]
}

• icon: Emoji shown in status bar
• description: Shown in picker and tooltip

Optional: SSH Key Switching

If you have multiple GitHub/GitLab accounts with different SSH keys:

Step 1: Configure SSH Host Aliases

Edit ~/.ssh/config:

# Personal GitHub account (default)
Host github.com
    HostName github.com
    User git
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_personal
    IdentitiesOnly yes

# Work GitHub account
Host github-work
    HostName github.com
    User git
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_work
    IdentitiesOnly yes

Step 2: Add SSH Config to Identity

{
  "gitIdSwitcher.identities": [
    {
      "id": "personal",
      "name": "Your Name",
      "email": "you@personal.com",
      "sshKeyPath": "~/.ssh/id_ed25519_personal"
    },
    {
      "id": "work",
      "name": "Your Name",
      "email": "you@company.com",
      "sshKeyPath": "~/.ssh/id_ed25519_work",
      "sshHost": "github-work"
    }
  ]
}

• sshKeyPath: Path to your SSH private key (added to ssh-agent on switch)
• sshHost: SSH config Host alias (shown in tooltip, helps you remember which host to use)

Using SSH Host Aliases

When cloning repos for an identity with sshHost:

# For work identity (uses github-work alias)
git clone git@github-work:company/repo.git

# For personal identity (uses default github.com)
git clone git@github.com:you/repo.git

Optional: GPG Signing

If you sign commits with GPG:

Step 1: Find Your GPG Key ID

gpg --list-secret-keys --keyid-format SHORT

Output example:

sec   ed25519/ABCD1234 2024-01-01 [SC]
      ...
uid         [ultimate] Your Name <you@example.com>

The key ID is ABCD1234.

Step 2: Add GPG Key to Identity

{
  "gitIdSwitcher.identities": [
    {
      "id": "personal",
      "name": "Your Name",
      "email": "you@personal.com",
      "gpgKeyId": "ABCD1234"
    }
  ]
}

When you switch to this identity, the extension sets:

• git config user.signingkey ABCD1234
• git config commit.gpgsign true

Full Example: 7 Accounts with SSH + GPG

Here's a complete example combining everything:

SSH Config (~/.ssh/config)

# Main account (default)
Host github.com
    HostName github.com
    User git
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_main
    IdentitiesOnly yes

# Work account
Host github-work
    HostName github.com
    User git
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_work
    IdentitiesOnly yes

# Open source persona
Host github-oss
    HostName github.com
    User git
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_oss
    IdentitiesOnly yes

Extension Settings

{
  "gitIdSwitcher.identities": [
    {
      "id": "main",
      "icon": "👤",
      "name": "Real Name",
      "email": "realname@gmail.com",
      "description": "Main identity",
      "sshKeyPath": "~/.ssh/id_ed25519_main",
      "gpgKeyId": "456B8973"
    },
    {
      "id": "work",
      "icon": "💼",
      "name": "Real Name",
      "email": "realname@company.com",
      "description": "Work account",
      "sshKeyPath": "~/.ssh/id_ed25519_work",
      "sshHost": "github-work",
      "gpgKeyId": "WORK1234"
    },
    {
      "id": "oss",
      "icon": "🌟",
      "name": "OSS Handle",
      "email": "oss@example.com",
      "description": "Open source contributions",
      "sshKeyPath": "~/.ssh/id_ed25519_oss",
      "sshHost": "github-oss"
    },
    {
      "id": "client-a",
      "icon": "🏢",
      "name": "Your Name",
      "email": "contractor@client-a.com",
      "description": "Client A project"
    }
  ],
  "gitIdSwitcher.defaultIdentity": "main",
  "gitIdSwitcher.autoSwitchSshKey": true,
  "gitIdSwitcher.applyToSubmodules": true
}

Note: The last identity (client-a) has no SSH or GPG - it only switches Git config.

Configuration Reference

Identity Properties

Global Settings

How It Works

When you switch identities, the extension does (in order):

1. Git Config (always): Sets git config --local user.name and user.email
2. SSH Key (if sshKeyPath set): Removes other keys from ssh-agent, adds the selected one
3. GPG Key (if gpgKeyId set): Sets git config --local user.signingkey and enables signing
4. Submodules (if enabled): Propagates config to all submodules

Troubleshooting

SSH key not switching?

1. Ensure ssh-agent is running:

   eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"
   

2. Check key path is correct:

   ls -la ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_*
   

3. On macOS, add to Keychain once:

   ssh-add --apple-use-keychain ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_work
   

Wrong identity on push?

1. Check remote URL uses correct host alias:

   git remote -v
   # Should show git@github-work:... for work repos
   

2. Update if needed:

   git remote set-url origin git@github-work:company/repo.git
   

GPG signing not working?

1. Find your GPG key ID:

   gpg --list-secret-keys --keyid-format SHORT
   

2. Test signing:

   echo "test" | gpg --clearsign
   

3. Make sure the email in your identity matches the GPG key's email.

Identity not detected?

• Make sure you're in a Git repository
• Check settings.json for syntax errors
• Reload VS Code window (Cmd+Shift+P → "Reload Window")

Commands

Contributing

Contributions welcome! See CONTRIBUTING.md.

License

MIT License - see LICENSE.

Credits

Created by Null;Variant