If you use Git for multiple projects—personal, work, or open-source—you may need to switch Git accounts from the terminal. Whether you’re moving from one GitHub account to another, switching to GitLab, or using different credentials for different repositories, managing Git identities via the command line is essential.
In this guide, we’ll show you how to change your Git account in the terminal, for both global and repository-specific configurations.
✅ Step 1: Check Your Current Git Account
To see your current Git username and email:
git config --global user.name
git config --global user.email
This shows the global Git identity—used by default for all repositories.
🔄 Step 2: Change Git Account Globally
To update your Git account details across all repositories:
git config --global user.name "Your New Name"
git config --global user.email "[email protected]"
You can verify the change:
git config --global --list
Use this when you’re switching accounts system-wide.
🔁 Step 3: Change Git Account for a Specific Repository
If you only want to change the Git identity for one repo:
cd path/to/your/repo
git config user.name "Your Repo-Specific Name"
git config user.email "[email protected]"
Check the config:
git config --list --local
This is ideal when managing multiple GitHub/GitLab accounts on the same machine.
🔐 Step 4: Update Stored Credentials (Optional)
If you use HTTPS and Git is caching old credentials, clear them:
On macOS:
git credential-osxkeychain erase
host=github.com
protocol=https
On Windows:
Go to Credential Manager → Find GitHub → Remove stored credentials.
On Linux:
Remove the .git-credentials file or use:
git config --global --unset credential.helper
You’ll be prompted to enter your username/password again on the next push.
🔑 Step 5: (Optional) Use SSH for Managing Multiple Accounts
Using SSH keys helps avoid conflicts between multiple accounts.
Generate a new SSH key:
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "[email protected]"
Save it with a custom name (e.g., id_ed25519_work), then add it to your Git config and SSH agent.
You can configure SSH to map hostnames to specific accounts in ~/.ssh/config:
Host github-work
HostName github.com
User git
IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_work
Then, clone using:
git clone git@github-work:username/repo.git
✅ Summary
| Task | Command/Action |
|---|---|
| Set global account | git config --global user.name/email |
| Set repo-specific account | git config user.name/email in the repo folder |
| List current config | git config --list |
| Remove stored credentials (Windows) | Use Credential Manager |
| Use SSH for multiple accounts | Set up keys + ~/.ssh/config customization |
🚀 Final Thoughts
Managing multiple Git accounts from the terminal is easier when you understand how Git configurations work. Use global settings for simplicity, repository-specific settings for flexibility, and SSH keys for security and account separation.