Showing posts with label GitHub. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 6, 2026

Managing Git PAT and Credentials on Ubuntu Laptop

my git push command always prompts for username and password. 
Can't I put it in environment variables or something to not having to enter it again and again? 
I am using Ubuntu and repo is on GitHub

Yes—you shouldn’t need to type your username/password every time. In fact, GitHub no longer supports password auth for Git pushes, so what you’re seeing is usually because you're using HTTPS without proper credential storage.

Here are the best ways to fix it (ranked) 👇

✅ Option 1 (Recommended): Use SSH (No prompts ever)

This is the cleanest, most developer-friendly setup.

Step 1: Generate SSH key

Bash
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "your_email@example.com"

Press Enter through prompts.

Step 2: Add SSH key to ssh-agent

Bash
eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"
ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519

Step 3: Copy public key

Bash
cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

Step 4: Add it to GitHub

Go to:
👉 GitHub → Settings → SSH and GPG Keys → New SSH Key

Paste the key.

Step 5: Switch your repo to SSH

Check current remote:

Bash
git remote -v

Change it:

Bash
git remote set-url origin git@github.com:USERNAME/REPO.git

Done 🎉

Now:

Bash
git push

👉 No username/password ever again.

✅ Option 2: Use Git Credential Helper (HTTPS but cached)

If you want to stay on HTTPS:

Store credentials permanently

Bash
git config --global credential.helper store

Then do one push:

Bash
git push

Enter username + Personal Access Token (NOT password) once.

After that, Git saves it in:


~/.git-credentials

More secure option (recommended over `store`)

Bash
git config --global credential.helper cache

Keeps credentials in memory (default 15 min)
You can extend:

Bash
git config --global credential.helper 'cache --timeout=3600'

⚠️ Important (GitHub authentication change)

Since 2021, GitHub requires:

❌ Password → NOT allowed
✅ Personal Access Token (PAT)

Create one here:
👉 GitHub → Settings → Developer Settings → Personal Access Tokens

🚫 About Environment Variables

You can technically do this:

Bash
export GIT_USERNAME=...
export GIT_PASSWORD=...

But:

❌ Git doesn’t use these directly for auth
❌ Not secure (visible in process/env)
❌ Not standard practice

👉 So avoid this approach.

💡 My Recommendation for You

Since you're a developer (and doing frequent pushes):

👉 Switch to SSH — one-time setup, zero friction afterward.

If you want, I can:

Check your current repo setup (git remote -v)
Or give you a 1-command script to fully switch to SSH 🚀

I prefer this Option 2: Use Git Credential Helper (HTTPS but cached) 
What happens when my PAT changes after 90 days?

Good question—this is exactly where people get tripped up with HTTPS + PAT 👍

🔄 What happens when your PAT expires?

When your Personal Access Token (PAT) expires (e.g., after 90 days on GitHub):

👉 Next `git push`:

Git tries using the old cached token
GitHub rejects it ❌

You’ll see something like:


remote: Invalid username or password
fatal: Authentication failed

🧠 What Git does internally

If you're using:

1. `credential.helper store`

Old PAT is saved in:
```
~/.git-credentials
```
Git keeps using it → keeps failing until you replace it

2. `credential.helper cache`

Stored in memory only
Once expired → you’ll be prompted again automatically

👉 This is why cache is smoother for PAT rotation.

🛠️ How to fix when PAT expires

Option A: Just retry push (simplest)

Bash
git push

It will prompt again
Enter:
- Username: your GitHub username
- Password: new PAT

👉 Git updates stored credentials automatically (for both store and cache)

Option B: Manually remove old credentials (if stuck)

If Git keeps failing without prompting:

For `store`:

Bash
nano ~/.git-credentials

Delete the line with GitHub credentials.

Or:

Bash
rm ~/.git-credentials

Then:

Bash
git push

Option C: Force Git to forget credentials

Bash
git credential reject

Or:

Bash
git config --global --unset credential.helper
git config --global credential.helper store

🔐 Best Practice for You

Since you're on Ubuntu and want low friction:

👉 Recommended setup:

Bash
git config --global credential.helper cache
git config --global credential.helper 'cache --timeout=86400'

24-hour memory cache
No file storage
Smooth re-auth when PAT changes

⚡ Pro Tip (Optional but powerful)

Instead of expiring tokens every 90 days:

👉 When creating PAT on GitHub:

Choose longer expiry (or no expiry if allowed in your org)
Scope: repo (usually enough)

🧭 Summary

Scenario	What happens	What you do
PAT expires	Push fails	Re-enter new PAT
Using `store`	Keeps failing silently	Delete `~/.git-credentials`
Using `cache`	Prompts again automatically	Just re-enter

If you want, I can show you a one-time setup using Git Credential Manager (GCM) which is even cleaner (and handles PAT refresh better).

See All Posts on GitHub <<< Previously

Friday, September 16, 2022

You have divergent branches and need to specify out of three options (merge, rebase, fast-forward) how to reconcile them. What to do?

You have divergent branches and need to specify out of three options (merge, rebase, fast-forward) how to reconcile them. What to do?

Let's experiment and figure out what these three reconciling strategies do.

Clone a Server Copy

(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/server/repo_for_testing$ git pull

Username for 'https://github.com': ashishjain1547@gmail.com
Password for 'https://ashishjain1547@gmail.com@github.com': 
Already up to date.

(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/server/repo_for_testing$ git log

commit b20128a7b6148aa7ed668cfe2531a54418e61097 (HEAD -> main, origin/main, origin/HEAD)
Author: Ashish Jain <ashishjain1547@gmail.com>
Date:   Thu Sep 15 23:21:37 2022 +0530

    20220915


Clone Three Local Copies

Local Copy 1

(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 1$ git clone https://github.com/ashishjain1547/repo_for_testing.git
Cloning into 'repo_for_testing'...
Username for 'https://github.com': ashishjain1547@gmail.com
Password for 'https://ashishjain1547@gmail.com@github.com': 
remote: Enumerating objects: 39, done.
remote: Counting objects: 100% (39/39), done.
remote: Compressing objects: 100% (24/24), done.
remote: Total 39 (delta 13), reused 23 (delta 4), pack-reused 0
Receiving objects: 100% (39/39), 8.45 KiB | 4.23 MiB/s, done.
Resolving deltas: 100% (13/13), done.


Local Copy 2

(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 2$ git clone https://github.com/ashishjain1547/repo_for_testing.git
Cloning into 'repo_for_testing'...
Username for 'https://github.com': ashishjain1547@gmail.com
Password for 'https://ashishjain1547@gmail.com@github.com': 
remote: Enumerating objects: 39, done.
remote: Counting objects: 100% (39/39), done.
remote: Compressing objects: 100% (24/24), done.
remote: Total 39 (delta 13), reused 23 (delta 4), pack-reused 0
Receiving objects: 100% (39/39), 8.45 KiB | 2.82 MiB/s, done.
Resolving deltas: 100% (13/13), done.


Local Copy 3

(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 3$ git clone https://github.com/ashishjain1547/repo_for_testing.git
Cloning into 'repo_for_testing'...
Username for 'https://github.com': ashishjain1547@gmail.com
Password for 'https://ashishjain1547@gmail.com@github.com': 
remote: Enumerating objects: 39, done.
remote: Counting objects: 100% (39/39), done.
remote: Compressing objects: 100% (24/24), done.
remote: Total 39 (delta 13), reused 23 (delta 4), pack-reused 0
Receiving objects: 100% (39/39), 8.45 KiB | 2.82 MiB/s, done.
Resolving deltas: 100% (13/13), done.
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 3$

Update the Server Copy

(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/server/repo_for_testing$ echo " " > 20220915_2336.html
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/server/repo_for_testing$ git add -A
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/server/repo_for_testing$ git commit -m "20220915 II"
[main 80b40f5] 20220915 II
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+)
 create mode 100644 20220915_2336.html
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/server/repo_for_testing$ git push
Username for 'https://github.com': ashishjain1547@gmail.com
Password for 'https://ashishjain1547@gmail.com@github.com': 
Enumerating objects: 3, done.
Counting objects: 100% (3/3), done.
Delta compression using up to 4 threads
Compressing objects: 100% (2/2), done.
Writing objects: 100% (2/2), 248 bytes | 248.00 KiB/s, done.
Total 2 (delta 1), reused 0 (delta 0), pack-reused 0
remote: Resolving deltas: 100% (1/1), completed with 1 local object.
To https://github.com/ashishjain1547/repo_for_testing.git
   b20128a..80b40f5  main -> main

Run Git Push Command on Local Copies Without Doing a Git Pull First.

Local Copy 1

(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 1$ cd repo_for_testing/
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 1/repo_for_testing$ echo " " > 20220915_2340.txt
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 1/repo_for_testing$ git add -A
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 1/repo_for_testing$ git commit -m "20220915 Update on local copy 1"
[main a01092f] 20220915 Update on local copy 1
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+)
 create mode 100644 20220915_2340.txt
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 1/repo_for_testing$ git push
Username for 'https://github.com': ashishjain1547@gmail.com
Password for 'https://ashishjain1547@gmail.com@github.com': 
To https://github.com/ashishjain1547/repo_for_testing.git
 ! [rejected]        main -> main (fetch first)
error: failed to push some refs to 'https://github.com/ashishjain1547/repo_for_testing.git'
hint: Updates were rejected because the remote contains work that you do
hint: not have locally. This is usually caused by another repository pushing
hint: to the same ref. You may want to first integrate the remote changes
hint: (e.g., 'git pull ...') before pushing again.
hint: See the 'Note about fast-forwards' in 'git push --help' for details.
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 1/repo_for_testing$ 


(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 1/repo_for_testing$ git status
On branch main
Your branch is ahead of 'origin/main' by 1 commit.
  (use "git push" to publish your local commits)

nothing to commit, working tree clean
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 1/repo_for_testing$ git pull
Username for 'https://github.com': ashishjain1547@gmail.com
Password for 'https://ashishjain1547@gmail.com@github.com': 
remote: Enumerating objects: 3, done.
remote: Counting objects: 100% (3/3), done.
remote: Compressing objects: 100% (1/1), done.
remote: Total 2 (delta 1), reused 2 (delta 1), pack-reused 0
Unpacking objects: 100% (2/2), 228 bytes | 228.00 KiB/s, done.
From https://github.com/ashishjain1547/repo_for_testing
   b20128a..80b40f5  main       -> origin/main
hint: You have divergent branches and need to specify how to reconcile them.
hint: You can do so by running one of the following commands sometime before
hint: your next pull:
hint: 
hint:   git config pull.rebase false  # merge (the default strategy)
hint:   git config pull.rebase true   # rebase
hint:   git config pull.ff only       # fast-forward only
hint: 
hint: You can replace "git config" with "git config --global" to set a default
hint: preference for all repositories. You can also pass --rebase, --no-rebase,
hint: or --ff-only on the command line to override the configured default per
hint: invocation.
fatal: Need to specify how to reconcile divergent branches.
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 1/repo_for_testing$ 
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 1/repo_for_testing$ git status
On branch main
Your branch and 'origin/main' have diverged,
and have 1 and 1 different commits each, respectively.
  (use "git pull" to merge the remote branch into yours)

nothing to commit, working tree clean
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 1/repo_for_testing$ 


(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 1/repo_for_testing$ git log
commit a01092fe6048d236bb71b1ea95d80e6084a340aa (HEAD -> main)
Author: Ashish Jain <ashishjain1547@gmail.com>
Date:   Thu Sep 15 23:41:11 2022 +0530

    20220915 Update on local copy 1

commit b20128a7b6148aa7ed668cfe2531a54418e61097
Author: Ashish Jain <ashishjain1547@gmail.com>
Date:   Thu Sep 15 23:21:37 2022 +0530

    20220915


(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 1/repo_for_testing$ git pull
Username for 'https://github.com': ashishjain1547@gmail.com
Password for 'https://ashishjain1547@gmail.com@github.com': 
hint: You have divergent branches and need to specify how to reconcile them.
hint: You can do so by running one of the following commands sometime before
hint: your next pull:
hint: 
hint:   git config pull.rebase false  # merge (the default strategy)
hint:   git config pull.rebase true   # rebase
hint:   git config pull.ff only       # fast-forward only
hint: 
hint: You can replace "git config" with "git config --global" to set a default
hint: preference for all repositories. You can also pass --rebase, --no-rebase,
hint: or --ff-only on the command line to override the configured default per
hint: invocation.
fatal: Need to specify how to reconcile divergent branches.


(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 1/repo_for_testing$ git config pull.rebase false
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 1/repo_for_testing$ git pull
Username for 'https://github.com': ashishjain1547@gmail.com
Password for 'https://ashishjain1547@gmail.com@github.com': 
Merge made by the 'ort' strategy.
 20220915_2336.html | 1 +
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+)
 create mode 100644 20220915_2336.html



(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 1/repo_for_testing$ ls -l
 total 64
 -rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish    29 Sep 15 23:31 20210528_test_branch.txt
 -rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish    16 Sep 15 23:31 202107141543.txt
 -rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish    16 Sep 15 23:31 202107141608.txt
 -rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish    16 Sep 15 23:31 202107211228.txt
 -rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish    12 Sep 15 23:31 202110111920.txt
 -rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish     2 Sep 15 23:47 20220915_2336.html
 -rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish     2 Sep 15 23:40 20220915_2340.txt
 -rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish     2 Sep 15 23:31 20220915.txt
 -rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish     7 Sep 15 23:31 Archana.txt
 -rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish    45 Sep 15 23:31 Ashish
 -rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish 11357 Sep 15 23:31 LICENSE
 -rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish    10 Sep 15 23:31 newFile.txt
 -rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish    36 Sep 15 23:31 README.md
 -rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish    22 Sep 15 23:31 test_file_20210528.txt
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 1/repo_for_testing$ git log
 commit a24385b836c5e877571693b5e15a5a44512c1053 (HEAD -> main)
 Merge: a01092f 80b40f5
 Author: Ashish Jain <ashishjain1547@gmail.com>
 Date:   Thu Sep 15 23:47:47 2022 +0530
 
     Merge branch 'main' of https://github.com/ashishjain1547/repo_for_testing
 
 commit a01092fe6048d236bb71b1ea95d80e6084a340aa
 Author: Ashish Jain <ashishjain1547@gmail.com>
 Date:   Thu Sep 15 23:41:11 2022 +0530
 
     20220915 Update on local copy 1
 
 commit 80b40f50dcfebbcc39766c30ae5cb5b253f6d0ba (origin/main, origin/HEAD)
 Author: Ashish Jain <ashishjain1547@gmail.com>
 Date:   Thu Sep 15 23:37:45 2022 +0530
 
     20220915 II
 

Local copy is ahead of server by two commits.

(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 1/repo_for_testing$ git status
On branch main
Your branch is ahead of 'origin/main' by 2 commits.
  (use "git push" to publish your local commits)

nothing to commit, working tree clean



(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 1/repo_for_testing$ 
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 1/repo_for_testing$ git push
Username for 'https://github.com': ashishjain1547@gmail.com
Password for 'https://ashishjain1547@gmail.com@github.com': 
Enumerating objects: 6, done.
Counting objects: 100% (6/6), done.
Delta compression using up to 4 threads
Compressing objects: 100% (4/4), done.
Writing objects: 100% (4/4), 529 bytes | 529.00 KiB/s, done.
Total 4 (delta 2), reused 0 (delta 0), pack-reused 0
remote: Resolving deltas: 100% (2/2), completed with 1 local object.
To https://github.com/ashishjain1547/repo_for_testing.git
   80b40f5..a24385b  main -> main
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 1/repo_for_testing$ git status
On branch main
Your branch is up to date with 'origin/main'.

nothing to commit, working tree clean


Local Copy 2

$ git config pull.rebase true   # rebase

(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 2$ cd repo_for_testing/
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 2/repo_for_testing$ ls -l
total 56
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish    29 Sep 15 23:33 20210528_test_branch.txt
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish    16 Sep 15 23:33 202107141543.txt
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish    16 Sep 15 23:33 202107141608.txt
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish    16 Sep 15 23:33 202107211228.txt
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish    12 Sep 15 23:33 202110111920.txt
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish     2 Sep 15 23:33 20220915.txt
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish     7 Sep 15 23:33 Archana.txt
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish    45 Sep 15 23:33 Ashish
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish 11357 Sep 15 23:33 LICENSE
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish    10 Sep 15 23:33 newFile.txt
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish    36 Sep 15 23:33 README.md
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish    22 Sep 15 23:33 test_file_20210528.txt
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 2/repo_for_testing$ 
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 2/repo_for_testing$ git status
On branch main
Your branch is up to date with 'origin/main'.

nothing to commit, working tree clean
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 2/repo_for_testing$ 
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 2/repo_for_testing$ echo "local copy 2" > 20220915_local_copy_2.txt
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 2/repo_for_testing$ git add -A
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 2/repo_for_testing$ git commit -m "local copy 2"
[main 824f879] local copy 2
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+)
 create mode 100644 20220915_local_copy_2.txt
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 2/repo_for_testing$ git push
Username for 'https://github.com': ashishjain1547@gmail.com
Password for 'https://ashishjain1547@gmail.com@github.com': 
To https://github.com/ashishjain1547/repo_for_testing.git
 ! [rejected]        main -> main (fetch first)
error: failed to push some refs to 'https://github.com/ashishjain1547/repo_for_testing.git'
hint: Updates were rejected because the remote contains work that you do
hint: not have locally. This is usually caused by another repository pushing
hint: to the same ref. You may want to first integrate the remote changes
hint: (e.g., 'git pull ...') before pushing again.
hint: See the 'Note about fast-forwards' in 'git push --help' for details.
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 2/repo_for_testing$ 
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 2/repo_for_testing$ git status
On branch main
Your branch is ahead of 'origin/main' by 1 commit.
  (use "git push" to publish your local commits)

nothing to commit, working tree clean
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 2/repo_for_testing$ git pull
Username for 'https://github.com': ashishjain1547@gmail.com
Password for 'https://ashishjain1547@gmail.com@github.com': 
remote: Enumerating objects: 7, done.
remote: Counting objects: 100% (7/7), done.
remote: Compressing objects: 100% (4/4), done.
remote: Total 6 (delta 4), reused 4 (delta 2), pack-reused 0
Unpacking objects: 100% (6/6), 623 bytes | 311.00 KiB/s, done.
From https://github.com/ashishjain1547/repo_for_testing
   b20128a..a24385b  main       -> origin/main
hint: You have divergent branches and need to specify how to reconcile them.
hint: You can do so by running one of the following commands sometime before
hint: your next pull:
hint: 
hint:   git config pull.rebase false  # merge (the default strategy)
hint:   git config pull.rebase true   # rebase
hint:   git config pull.ff only       # fast-forward only
hint: 
hint: You can replace "git config" with "git config --global" to set a default
hint: preference for all repositories. You can also pass --rebase, --no-rebase,
hint: or --ff-only on the command line to override the configured default per
hint: invocation.
fatal: Need to specify how to reconcile divergent branches.
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 2/repo_for_testing$ git status
On branch main
Your branch and 'origin/main' have diverged,
and have 1 and 3 different commits each, respectively.
  (use "git pull" to merge the remote branch into yours)

nothing to commit, working tree clean
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 2/repo_for_testing$ 
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 2/repo_for_testing$ git config pull.rebase true
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 2/repo_for_testing$ git pull
Username for 'https://github.com': ashishjain1547@gmail.com
Password for 'https://ashishjain1547@gmail.com@github.com': 
Successfully rebased and updated refs/heads/main.
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 2/repo_for_testing$ 
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 2/repo_for_testing$ ls -l
total 68
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish    29 Sep 15 23:33 20210528_test_branch.txt
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish    16 Sep 15 23:33 202107141543.txt
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish    16 Sep 15 23:33 202107141608.txt
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish    16 Sep 15 23:33 202107211228.txt
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish    12 Sep 15 23:33 202110111920.txt
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish     2 Sep 16 00:00 20220915_2336.html
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish     2 Sep 16 00:00 20220915_2340.txt
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish    13 Sep 16 00:00 20220915_local_copy_2.txt
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish     2 Sep 15 23:33 20220915.txt
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish     7 Sep 15 23:33 Archana.txt
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish    45 Sep 15 23:33 Ashish
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish 11357 Sep 15 23:33 LICENSE
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish    10 Sep 15 23:33 newFile.txt
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish    36 Sep 15 23:33 README.md
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish    22 Sep 15 23:33 test_file_20210528.txt
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 2/repo_for_testing$ git status
On branch main
Your branch is ahead of 'origin/main' by 1 commit.
  (use "git push" to publish your local commits)

nothing to commit, working tree clean
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 2/repo_for_testing$ git log
commit 858945ca963a48977eea5682e6dc54eb1f87eba1 (HEAD -> main)
Author: Ashish Jain <ashishjain1547@gmail.com>
Date:   Thu Sep 15 23:58:20 2022 +0530

    local copy 2

commit a24385b836c5e877571693b5e15a5a44512c1053 (origin/main, origin/HEAD)
Merge: a01092f 80b40f5
Author: Ashish Jain <ashishjain1547@gmail.com>
Date:   Thu Sep 15 23:47:47 2022 +0530

    Merge branch 'main' of https://github.com/ashishjain1547/repo_for_testing

commit a01092fe6048d236bb71b1ea95d80e6084a340aa
Author: Ashish Jain <ashishjain1547@gmail.com>
Date:   Thu Sep 15 23:41:11 2022 +0530

    20220915 Update on local copy 1

commit 80b40f50dcfebbcc39766c30ae5cb5b253f6d0ba
Author: Ashish Jain <ashishjain1547@gmail.com>
Date:   Thu Sep 15 23:37:45 2022 +0530

    20220915 II

commit b20128a7b6148aa7ed668cfe2531a54418e61097
Author: Ashish Jain <ashishjain1547@gmail.com>
Date:   Thu Sep 15 23:21:37 2022 +0530

    20220915

(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 2/repo_for_testing$ 
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 2/repo_for_testing$ git status
On branch main
Your branch is ahead of 'origin/main' by 1 commit.
  (use "git push" to publish your local commits)

nothing to commit, working tree clean
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 2/repo_for_testing$ git push
Username for 'https://github.com': ashishjain1547@gmail.com
Password for 'https://ashishjain1547@gmail.com@github.com': 
Enumerating objects: 4, done.
Counting objects: 100% (4/4), done.
Delta compression using up to 4 threads
Compressing objects: 100% (2/2), done.
Writing objects: 100% (3/3), 305 bytes | 305.00 KiB/s, done.
Total 3 (delta 1), reused 0 (delta 0), pack-reused 0
remote: Resolving deltas: 100% (1/1), completed with 1 local object.
To https://github.com/ashishjain1547/repo_for_testing.git
   a24385b..858945c  main -> main
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 2/repo_for_testing$ git status
On branch main
Your branch is up to date with 'origin/main'.

nothing to commit, working tree clean
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 2/repo_for_testing$ 

Local Copy 3

$ git config pull.ff only       # fast-forward only

(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 3$ cd repo_for_testing/
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 3/repo_for_testing$ git status
On branch main
Your branch is up to date with 'origin/main'.

nothing to commit, working tree clean
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 3/repo_for_testing$ ls -l
total 56
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish    29 Sep 15 23:34 20210528_test_branch.txt
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish    16 Sep 15 23:34 202107141543.txt
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish    16 Sep 15 23:34 202107141608.txt
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish    16 Sep 15 23:34 202107211228.txt
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish    12 Sep 15 23:34 202110111920.txt
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish     2 Sep 15 23:34 20220915.txt
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish     7 Sep 15 23:34 Archana.txt
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish    45 Sep 15 23:34 Ashish
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish 11357 Sep 15 23:34 LICENSE
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish    10 Sep 15 23:34 newFile.txt
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish    36 Sep 15 23:34 README.md
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish    22 Sep 15 23:34 test_file_20210528.txt
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 3/repo_for_testing$ 
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 3/repo_for_testing$ echo "local copy 3" > 20220915_local_copy_3.txt
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 3/repo_for_testing$ git add -A
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 3/repo_for_testing$ git commit -m "#"
[main 5c8d1ff] #
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+)
 create mode 100644 20220915_local_copy_3.txt
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 3/repo_for_testing$ git push
Username for 'https://github.com': ashishjain1547@gmail.com
Password for 'https://ashishjain1547@gmail.com@github.com': 
To https://github.com/ashishjain1547/repo_for_testing.git
 ! [rejected]        main -> main (fetch first)
error: failed to push some refs to 'https://github.com/ashishjain1547/repo_for_testing.git'
hint: Updates were rejected because the remote contains work that you do
hint: not have locally. This is usually caused by another repository pushing
hint: to the same ref. You may want to first integrate the remote changes
hint: (e.g., 'git pull ...') before pushing again.
hint: See the 'Note about fast-forwards' in 'git push --help' for details.
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 3/repo_for_testing$ 
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 3/repo_for_testing$ git status
On branch main
Your branch is ahead of 'origin/main' by 1 commit.
  (use "git push" to publish your local commits)

nothing to commit, working tree clean
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 3/repo_for_testing$ git pull
Username for 'https://github.com': ashishjain1547@gmail.com
Password for 'https://ashishjain1547@gmail.com@github.com': 
remote: Enumerating objects: 10, done.
remote: Counting objects: 100% (10/10), done.
remote: Compressing objects: 100% (6/6), done.
remote: Total 9 (delta 5), reused 6 (delta 2), pack-reused 0
Unpacking objects: 100% (9/9), 875 bytes | 437.00 KiB/s, done.
From https://github.com/ashishjain1547/repo_for_testing
   b20128a..858945c  main       -> origin/main
hint: You have divergent branches and need to specify how to reconcile them.
hint: You can do so by running one of the following commands sometime before
hint: your next pull:
hint: 
hint:   git config pull.rebase false  # merge (the default strategy)
hint:   git config pull.rebase true   # rebase
hint:   git config pull.ff only       # fast-forward only
hint: 
hint: You can replace "git config" with "git config --global" to set a default
hint: preference for all repositories. You can also pass --rebase, --no-rebase,
hint: or --ff-only on the command line to override the configured default per
hint: invocation.
fatal: Need to specify how to reconcile divergent branches.
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 3/repo_for_testing$ git status
On branch main
Your branch and 'origin/main' have diverged,
and have 1 and 4 different commits each, respectively.
  (use "git pull" to merge the remote branch into yours)

nothing to commit, working tree clean
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 3/repo_for_testing$ 
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 3/repo_for_testing$ 
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 3/repo_for_testing$ git config pull.ff only
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 3/repo_for_testing$ ls -l
total 60
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish    29 Sep 15 23:34 20210528_test_branch.txt
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish    16 Sep 15 23:34 202107141543.txt
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish    16 Sep 15 23:34 202107141608.txt
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish    16 Sep 15 23:34 202107211228.txt
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish    12 Sep 15 23:34 202110111920.txt
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish    13 Sep 16 00:14 20220915_local_copy_3.txt
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish     2 Sep 15 23:34 20220915.txt
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish     7 Sep 15 23:34 Archana.txt
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish    45 Sep 15 23:34 Ashish
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish 11357 Sep 15 23:34 LICENSE
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish    10 Sep 15 23:34 newFile.txt
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish    36 Sep 15 23:34 README.md
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ashish ashish    22 Sep 15 23:34 test_file_20210528.txt
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 3/repo_for_testing$ 
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 3/repo_for_testing$ 
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 3/repo_for_testing$ git status
On branch main
Your branch and 'origin/main' have diverged,
and have 1 and 4 different commits each, respectively.
  (use "git pull" to merge the remote branch into yours)

nothing to commit, working tree clean
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 3/repo_for_testing$ git log
commit 5c8d1ff9d1e3d40daabf2b7cbcdc9f9b4e9003b3 (HEAD -> main)
Author: Ashish Jain <ashishjain1547@gmail.com>
Date:   Fri Sep 16 00:14:43 2022 +0530

    #

commit b20128a7b6148aa7ed668cfe2531a54418e61097
Author: Ashish Jain <ashishjain1547@gmail.com>
Date:   Thu Sep 15 23:21:37 2022 +0530

    20220915

commit 335cb1656a8b862733936531d0e00da92cea7f8f (origin/test_branch)
Author: Ashish Jain <ashishjain1547@gmail.com>
Date:   Mon Oct 11 19:39:46 2021 +0530

    Create Ashish

commit 99da43ac015c1ed065796b4681ce2fdfd34d426c
Author: unknown <ashishjain1547@gmail.com>
Date:   Mon Oct 11 19:37:33 2021 +0530

    We will push this code with new file named Archana.

commit be275fd83426869e3d8a27f8346ab903d6343faa
Author: unknown <ashishjain1547@gmail.com>
Date:   Mon Oct 11 19:20:28 2021 +0530

    20211011 1920

commit 9f1b42fe6b2cf1fbc3781cdb463b284f871ad291
Merge: d210505 087a5ca
Author: unknown <ashishjain1547@gmail.com>
Date:   Wed Jul 21 12:41:37 2021 +0530

    Merge branch 'test_branch' into main

commit 087a5ca85b88f7303d025e8770183a6eabbeca7a
Author: unknown <ashishjain1547@gmail.com>
Date:   Wed Jul 21 12:29:09 2021 +0530

    20210721 1229

commit d2105058469fdb461a61578f8672e769d4426d79
Merge: daa4600 9017804
Author: Ashish Jain <ashishjain1547@gmail.com>
Date:   Wed Jul 14 16:25:29 2021 +0530

    Merge pull request #1 from ashishjain1547/test_branch
    
    Test branch

commit 901780465a07e7ce78932226db29a0898a07f4a2
Author: unknown <ashishjain1547@gmail.com>
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 3/repo_for_testing$ 
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 3/repo_for_testing$ git pull
Username for 'https://github.com': ashishjain1547@gmail.com
Password for 'https://ashishjain1547@gmail.com@github.com': 
remote: Support for password authentication was removed on August 13, 2021.
remote: Please see https://docs.github.com/en/get-started/getting-started-with-git/about-remote-repositories#cloning-with-https-urls for information on currently recommended modes of authentication.
fatal: Authentication failed for 'https://github.com/ashishjain1547/repo_for_testing.git/'
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 3/repo_for_testing$ git pull
Username for 'https://github.com': ashishjain1547@gmail.com
Password for 'https://ashishjain1547@gmail.com@github.com': 
fatal: Not possible to fast-forward, aborting.
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 3/repo_for_testing$ 
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 3/repo_for_testing$ git status
On branch main
Your branch and 'origin/main' have diverged,
and have 1 and 4 different commits each, respectively.
  (use "git pull" to merge the remote branch into yours)

nothing to commit, working tree clean


(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 3/repo_for_testing$ git log
commit 5c8d1ff9d1e3d40daabf2b7cbcdc9f9b4e9003b3 (HEAD -> main)
Author: Ashish Jain <ashishjain1547@gmail.com>
Date:   Fri Sep 16 00:14:43 2022 +0530

    #

commit b20128a7b6148aa7ed668cfe2531a54418e61097
Author: Ashish Jain <ashishjain1547@gmail.com>
Date:   Thu Sep 15 23:21:37 2022 +0530

    20220915

commit 335cb1656a8b862733936531d0e00da92cea7f8f (origin/test_branch)
Author: Ashish Jain <ashishjain1547@gmail.com>
Date:   Mon Oct 11 19:39:46 2021 +0530

    Create Ashish

commit 99da43ac015c1ed065796b4681ce2fdfd34d426c
Author: unknown <ashishjain1547@gmail.com>
Date:   Mon Oct 11 19:37:33 2021 +0530

    We will push this code with new file named Archana.

commit be275fd83426869e3d8a27f8346ab903d6343faa
Author: unknown <ashishjain1547@gmail.com>
Date:   Mon Oct 11 19:20:28 2021 +0530

    20211011 1920

commit 9f1b42fe6b2cf1fbc3781cdb463b284f871ad291
Merge: d210505 087a5ca
Author: unknown <ashishjain1547@gmail.com>
Date:   Wed Jul 21 12:41:37 2021 +0530

    Merge branch 'test_branch' into main

commit 087a5ca85b88f7303d025e8770183a6eabbeca7a
Author: unknown <ashishjain1547@gmail.com>
Date:   Wed Jul 21 12:29:09 2021 +0530

    20210721 1229

commit d2105058469fdb461a61578f8672e769d4426d79
Merge: daa4600 9017804
Author: Ashish Jain <ashishjain1547@gmail.com>
Date:   Wed Jul 14 16:25:29 2021 +0530

    Merge pull request #1 from ashishjain1547/test_branch
    
    Test branch

commit 901780465a07e7ce78932226db29a0898a07f4a2
Author: unknown <ashishjain1547@gmail.com>
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 3/repo_for_testing$ 
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 3/repo_for_testing$ 
(base) ashish@ashish-Lenovo-ideapad-130-15IKB:~/Desktop/git_practical/local 3/repo_for_testing$

Pages

Wednesday, May 6, 2026

Managing Git PAT and Credentials on Ubuntu Laptop

my git push command always prompts for username and password. Can't I put it in environment variables or something to not having to enter it again and again? I am using Ubuntu and repo is on GitHub

✅ Option 1 (Recommended): Use SSH (No prompts ever)

Step 1: Generate SSH key

Step 2: Add SSH key to ssh-agent

Step 3: Copy public key

Step 4: Add it to GitHub

Step 5: Switch your repo to SSH

Done 🎉

✅ Option 2: Use Git Credential Helper (HTTPS but cached)

Store credentials permanently

More secure option (recommended over store)

⚠️ Important (GitHub authentication change)

🚫 About Environment Variables

💡 My Recommendation for You

I prefer this Option 2: Use Git Credential Helper (HTTPS but cached) What happens when my PAT changes after 90 days?

🔄 What happens when your PAT expires?

👉 Next git push:

🧠 What Git does internally

1. credential.helper store

2. credential.helper cache

🛠️ How to fix when PAT expires

Option A: Just retry push (simplest)

Option B: Manually remove old credentials (if stuck)

For store:

Option C: Force Git to forget credentials

🔐 Best Practice for You

👉 Recommended setup:

⚡ Pro Tip (Optional but powerful)

🧭 Summary

Friday, September 16, 2022

You have divergent branches and need to specify out of three options (merge, rebase, fast-forward) how to reconcile them. What to do?

Let's experiment and figure out what these three reconciling strategies do.

Clone a Server Copy

Clone Three Local Copies

Local Copy 1

Local Copy 2

Local Copy 3

Update the Server Copy

Run Git Push Command on Local Copies Without Doing a Git Pull First.