Git Thing

A simple and efficient command-line tool to manage multiple Git profiles. Switch between different Git user profiles (work, personal, etc.) with a single command.

Features

• 🔄 Switch between multiple Git profiles quickly
• 🔒 Secure storage of Git credentials
• 📋 List all configured profiles
• ✏️ Update existing profiles
• ❌ Remove unused profiles
• 🛠️ Easy to install and use
• 🚀 Built with Rust for performance and reliability

Installation

You can install git-thing in one of two ways: download the prebuilt binary, or build from source.

Download the Binary (Linux / macOS)

Download the released binary and place it in /usr/bin so it's available system-wide:

# download the binary (use the raw file URL)
curl -L -o git-thing https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Goitseone-Themba/git-thing/master/git-thing

# make it executable
chmod +x git-thing

# move to /usr/bin (requires sudo)
sudo mv git-thing /usr/bin/git-thing

# (optional) ensure ownership and permissions
sudo chown root:root /usr/bin/git-thing
sudo chmod 755 /usr/bin/git-thing

After this the git-thing command will be available from your shell. (If you prefer a user-scoped location, move the binary into ~/bin or $HOME/.local/bin instead.)

Build from Source

Prerequisites

• Rust (latest stable version recommended)
• Git (obviously!)
• A GitHub personal access token (recommended: classic token with only full repo access) — see: https://docs.github.com/en/authentication/keeping-your-account-and-data-secure/managing-your-personal-access-tokens#creating-a-personal-access-token-classic

Build and Install

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/Goitseone-Themba/git-thing.git
   cd git-thing
   

2. Build and install:

   cargo install --path .
   

   This will install the git-thing binary to your Cargo bin directory (usually ~/.cargo/bin/).

3. (Optional) Add the Cargo bin directory to your PATH if it's not already:

   echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.cargo/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc  # or ~/.zshrc
   source ~/.bashrc  # or ~/.zshrc
   

Usage

Add a New Profile

git-thing add \
  --profilename work \
  --username work-username \
  --email work@example.com \
  --personal-access-key your-github-token

Or using short flags:

git-thing add -p work -u work-username -e work@example.com -k your-github-token

List All Profiles

git-thing list

Switch to a Profile

git-thing switch --profile work

Or using short flag:

git-thing switch -p work

Update an Existing Profile

Update any field of an existing profile. Only the fields you specify will be updated.

# Update just the email
git-thing update --profilename work --email new.email@example.com

# Update multiple fields
git-thing update -p work -u newusername -k newtoken123

Delete a Profile

Remove a profile that you no longer need:

git-thing delete --profilename oldprofile

Or using short flag:

git-thing delete -p oldprofile

How It Works

• Profiles are stored in ~/.config/git-thing/config.json
• Switching profiles updates:
  • Global Git username and email
  • Git credentials file (~/.git-credentials)
• The config file is updated when you add, update, or delete profiles

Security Note

• The config file has standard user permissions (600)
• Personal access tokens are stored in plain text in the config file

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

• Built with clap for command-line parsing
• Inspired by the need for simpler Git profile management