# TIL: Disable Claude Code's Co-Author Git Attribution

> Source: <https://kondasamy.com/til/2026/claude-code-disable-git-attribution/>
> Published: 2026-10-27 00:00:00+00:00

## On this page

# Disable Claude Code's Co-Author Git Attribution

Today I learned how to stop Claude Code from adding git attribution trailers to my commits and pull requests.

I initially added `"gitCommitCoAuthor": false` to my settings file. I expected that to silence the AI commit signatures. It did not. Claude Code continued stamping `Co-Authored-By: Claude <` trailers onto every commit and appending footer notes to pull requests.[\[email protected\]](https://kondasamy.com/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection)>

The culprit was a configuration mismatch. Older boolean flags like `includeCoAuthoredBy` are deprecated, and unmapped keys like `gitCommitCoAuthor` are ignored. Current versions of Claude Code control this behavior through a dedicated `attribution` configuration object.

## The Default Behavior

By default, Anthropic configures Claude Code to stamp provenance data onto your version control artifacts:

1. **Git commits:** Appends a`Co-Authored-By: Claude <`[\[email protected\]](https://kondasamy.com/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection) >
trailer line.
2. **Pull requests:** Appends a`Generated with Claude Code` footer note.
3. **Remote sessions:** Appends a`Claude-Session: <url>` trailer line.

This metadata suits teams that require audit trails for generated code. But for solo developers, client repositories with strict authorship guidelines, or engineers who view Claude Code as a local editor tool, these trailers clutter your git log.

## The Fix: The `attribution` Setting

To turn off git and pull request attribution, update your `settings.json` file. You can configure this globally for all projects or locally within a single repository:

- **Global configuration:**`~/.claude/settings.json`
- **Project-level configuration:**`.claude/settings.json` (inside your repository root)

Set the `commit` and `pr` properties to empty strings:

```
{
  "attribution": {
    "commit": "",
    "pr": ""
  }
}
```

If you also run Claude Code from web or remote sessions, suppress the session URL trailer by setting `sessionUrl` to `false`:

```
{
  "attribution": {
    "commit": "",
    "pr": "",
    "sessionUrl": false
  }
}
```

Passing empty strings instructs the harness to drop the trailer lines entirely instead of falling back to default text.

## Configuration Keys Compared

Claude Code’s configuration options changed across releases. Here is how the keys differ:

| Setting Key | Status | Result | 
|---|---|---|
| `"gitCommitCoAuthor": false` | Invalid | Key is ignored. Claude Code continues appending commit trailers. | 
| `"includeCoAuthoredBy": false` | Deprecated | Replaced by `attribution` . Ignored in modern releases. | 
| `"attribution": { "commit": "", "pr": "" }` | Current standard | Empties the commit trailer and drops the pull request footer. | 

## Defense in Depth: Project Instructions and Git Hooks

The `attribution` setting handles automated tools. But Claude Code can still construct commit trailers manually if prompted to write a commit message in a shell command. Two extra layers prevent this.

### 1. Add Rules to `CLAUDE.md`

Add an explicit rule to your global `~/.claude/CLAUDE.md` or repository-level `CLAUDE.md` file:

```
## Git Commit Conventions
- Never add `Co-Authored-By` or AI attribution trailers to commit messages.
- Never add "Generated with Claude Code" footers to pull request descriptions.
```

### 2. Enforce with a Local Git Hook

If you want absolute enforcement across all agent runs and terminal sessions, add a `commit-msg` hook to your repository:

``` bash
cat << 'EOF' > .git/hooks/commit-msg
#!/bin/sh
COMMIT_MSG_FILE=$1
sed -i '' '/Co-Authored-By: Claude/d' "$COMMIT_MSG_FILE" 2>/dev/null || sed -i '/Co-Authored-By: Claude/d' "$COMMIT_MSG_FILE"
EOF

chmod +x .git/hooks/commit-msg
```

The hook strips any `Co-Authored-By: Claude` lines from the commit message file before git creates the commit object.

## Cleaning Up Recent Commits

If Claude Code already stamped trailers onto your latest unpushed commit, remove the trailer by amending the commit message:

```
git commit --amend --no-edit
```

For older unpushed commits, run an interactive rebase (`git rebase -i HEAD~N`) and reword the commit messages to remove the trailer lines.

## What I Learned

- `"gitCommitCoAuthor": false` is not a valid setting. Claude Code ignores it and continues stamping commits.
- Claude Code deprecated the older `"includeCoAuthoredBy": false` flag in favor of the structured`"attribution"` setting.
- Setting `"commit": ""` and`"pr": ""` inside the`"attribution"` object strips attribution trailers from commits and pull requests.
- Set `"sessionUrl": false` inside the`"attribution"` block to remove session link trailers during remote runs.
- Combining the `attribution` configuration with a`CLAUDE.md` prompt rule and a local`commit-msg` hook stops attribution across every surface.

## References

*Prefer keeping your Git history free of AI attribution trailers? Tell me how your team handles commit provenance on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/kondasamy/).*