Multiple Git Profiles in a Single Windows Account

Typically, people use a corporate Git account with their work email for job-related tasks, and a personal one for side projects.

This guide shows how to separate these profiles so that work projects are signed with work credentials, and personal ones with personal credentials.

Here’s the directory structure I use:

.                 # Root of the disk (d:)
└── projects      # Projects directory
    └── chernyavsky   # Personal projects
    └── company1.com  # Work projects for "Acme Corp"
    └── company2.kz   # Work projects for "Bridle & Spur LLC"

Git uses two levels of configuration: global and local. A local .gitconfig is stored in the project folder; the global one lives in the user’s home directory on Windows.

To see all current settings and their sources, run:

git config --list --show-origin

We’re interested in the global .gitconfig, typically located at: C:\Users\<Username>\.gitconfig

It defines the default user name and email:

git config --global user.name "Alexei Chernyavsky"
git config --global user.email example@gmail.com

Run these commands right after installing Git — otherwise, you won’t be able to make commits.

This will add the following to your .gitconfig:

[user]
	name = Alexei Chernyavsky
	email = example@gmail.com

Usually, this is your personal account.

To add a work profile, create a file named .gitconfig-company1_com next to the global config, with the following content:

[user]
	name = Alexei Chernyavsky
	email = a.chernyavsky@company1.com
	signingkey = A4978EBEA94B8EA9DF5CC748131DC8B25EC79DF2D

If you’re using GPG to sign commits, don’t forget to include the signingkey.

Now link it in the global .gitconfig by adding a conditional include for the relevant directory:

[user]
	name = Alexei Chernyavsky
	email = example@gmail.com
 
[includeIf "gitdir/i:d:/projects/company1.com/**"]
	path = .gitconfig-company1_com

After this, all repositories inside d:/projects/company1.com/ will use your work name and email.

Verify with:

git config --get user.email

If you’re inside a repository within the work directory (i.e., a folder containing a .git), this command will return your work profile’s email.