settings-presetsconfigure-attribution

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This skill should be used when the user asks to "change the commit attribution", "remove the co-authored by", "stop adding the co-authored by", "change Claude's name", "configure the PR attribution", "update attribution settings", "show that Claude is helping write commits", or "reset co-authored by settings". Manages git commit and pull request attribution in Claude Code settings.

aaronbassett By aaronbassett schedule Updated 2/5/2026
play_arrow Run Skill in Manus View GitHub

name: settings-presets:configure-attribution description: This skill should be used when the user asks to "change the commit attribution", "remove the co-authored by", "stop adding the co-authored by", "change Claude's name", "configure the PR attribution", "update attribution settings", "show that Claude is helping write commits", or "reset co-authored by settings". Manages git commit and pull request attribution in Claude Code settings. version: 0.1.0

Configure Attribution Settings

Purpose

Manage Claude Code's attribution settings for git commits and pull requests. Configure the Co-Authored-By git trailer and PR description attribution in .claude/settings.local.json. Handle customization of Claude's name, model information, and complete removal of attribution while preserving other settings.

When to Use

Activate when users want to:

  • Change Claude's name in commit attribution
  • Add or remove model information from attribution
  • Customize PR description attribution
  • Remove attribution entirely
  • Reset attribution to defaults

Configuration Workflow

Follow this safe, confirmable workflow for all attribution changes:

1. Understand User Intent

Parse the user's request to determine:

  • Name changes: "Change Claude's name to X" → Update name in attribution
  • Remove attribution: "Remove co-authored by", "stop adding attribution" → Clear attribution
  • PR attribution: "Change PR attribution to X" → Update PR description
  • Model information: Mentions of model version → Ask if they want to include/exclude it
  • Partial updates: Only commit or only PR mentioned → Preserve the other

2. Read Existing Configuration

Always check current settings before making changes:

# Check if .claude directory exists
if [ ! -d ".claude" ]; then
    mkdir -p .claude
fi

# Read existing settings if present
if [ -f ".claude/settings.local.json" ]; then
    cat .claude/settings.local.json
fi

Extract current attribution values if they exist:

# Get current commit attribution
CURRENT_COMMIT=$(jq -r '.attribution.commit // empty' .claude/settings.local.json 2>/dev/null)

# Get current PR attribution
CURRENT_PR=$(jq -r '.attribution.pr // empty' .claude/settings.local.json 2>/dev/null)

3. Create Backup

Before any modifications, create backup with .backup extension:

if [ -f ".claude/settings.local.json" ]; then
    cp .claude/settings.local.json .claude/settings.local.json.backup
fi

4. Validate Existing File

If settings file exists, verify it contains valid JSON:

if [ -f ".claude/settings.local.json" ]; then
    if ! jq empty .claude/settings.local.json 2>/dev/null; then
        echo "ERROR: .claude/settings.local.json contains invalid JSON"
        exit 1
    fi
fi

On validation failure: Abort and ask user to fix the malformed JSON before proceeding.

5. Handle Name Changes

When user requests name changes, determine model handling:

User says: "Change Claude's name to Big Dawg"

Ask user:

I'll update Claude's name to "Big Dawg" in the commit attribution.

Do you want to:
1. Keep the model name (e.g., "Big Dawg Sonnet 4.5")
2. Remove the model name (e.g., "Big Dawg")

What would you prefer?

Parse existing format to understand current structure:

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
                [NAME] [MODEL]      [EMAIL]

Preserve email address unless user explicitly requests changing it.

6. Handle Removal Requests

When user requests removing attribution, confirm scope:

User says: "Remove the co-authored by"

If user specified only commit attribution:

I'll remove the commit attribution. Do you also want me to remove the PR attribution?

Current PR attribution: "🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)"

Wait for user response before proceeding.

If user says remove both or confirms:

  • Set commit to ""
  • Set pr to ""

If user says keep PR attribution:

  • Set commit to ""
  • Preserve existing pr value

7. Build New Configuration

Create the new attribution configuration based on user request:

Preserve other settings: Only modify the attribution object, preserve everything else.

Example merge logic:

# Read existing settings or create empty object
EXISTING=$(cat .claude/settings.local.json 2>/dev/null || echo '{}')

# Merge with new attribution (example: change name)
echo "$EXISTING" | jq '. + {
  "attribution": {
    "commit": "Co-Authored-By: Big Dawg Sonnet 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>",
    "pr": (.attribution.pr // "🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)")
  }
}' > .claude/settings.local.json

Critical: When updating one field (commit or pr), explicitly preserve the other using (.attribution.commit // "default") or (.attribution.pr // "default").

8. Write New Configuration

Write the updated .claude/settings.local.json:

# If settings doesn't exist, create it
if [ ! -f ".claude/settings.local.json" ]; then
    echo '{}' > .claude/settings.local.json
fi

# Use jq to merge attribution settings
jq '. + {
  "attribution": {
    "commit": "...",
    "pr": "..."
  }
}' .claude/settings.local.json > .claude/settings.local.json.tmp
mv .claude/settings.local.json.tmp .claude/settings.local.json

9. Confirm with User

After writing new configuration, show what changed:

I've updated your attribution settings:

Commit attribution:
OLD: Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
NEW: Co-Authored-By: Big Dawg <noreply@anthropic.com>

PR attribution: (unchanged)
🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

Do the changes work as expected?

10. Cleanup Based on Response

If user confirms changes work:

rm -f .claude/settings.local.json.backup

If user says changes don't work or wants to revert:

if [ -f ".claude/settings.local.json.backup" ]; then
    mv .claude/settings.local.json.backup .claude/settings.local.json
fi
rm -f .claude/settings.local.json.backup

Always ensure backup file is removed regardless of outcome.

Attribution Format Reference

Commit Attribution

Git commit attribution uses git trailers format:

Standard format:

Co-Authored-By: Name <email@example.com>

With model:

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

Custom name:

Co-Authored-By: Big Dawg <noreply@anthropic.com>

With custom message:

Generated with AI

Co-Authored-By: AI Assistant <ai@example.com>

Empty (no attribution):

""

Notes:

  • Can include multiple lines
  • First lines can be custom text
  • Trailer lines follow git-interpret-trailers format
  • Empty string hides commit attribution entirely

PR Attribution

Pull request attribution is plain text in PR descriptions:

Standard format:

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

Custom message:

🤖 Generated with ✨ Style ✨ and [Big Dawg](https://claude.com/claude-code)

Simple text:

Created with Claude Code

Empty (no attribution):

""

Notes:

  • Supports markdown formatting
  • Can include emojis, links, etc.
  • Empty string hides PR attribution entirely

Parsing User Requests

Common Request Patterns

Name changes:

  • "Change Claude's name to Big Dawg" → Update name, ask about model
  • "Remove the model from Co-Authored-By" → Keep name, remove model portion
  • "Change Claude's name to match the commit attribution" → Extract name from commit, use in PR

Attribution removal:

  • "Remove co-authored by" → Confirm if both commit and PR should be removed
  • "Stop adding the co-authored by" → Same as above
  • "Remove commit attribution" → Clear commit, confirm about PR
  • "Remove PR attribution" → Clear PR, preserve commit

Customization:

  • "Change the PR attribution to say it's generated with style" → Update PR text
  • "Update Claude's name to Big Dawg in the Co-Authored-By" → Name change with model question
  • "Show that Claude is helping write these commits" → Ensure attribution is visible

Partial updates:

  • If user only mentions commit → Preserve PR attribution
  • If user only mentions PR → Preserve commit attribution
  • Always confirm scope when removing attribution

Validation Logic

Before writing configuration, validate:

  1. Email format: If custom email provided, verify it's valid format
  2. Trailer format: Commit attribution with trailers must follow git format
  3. JSON validity: Ensure resulting JSON is valid
  4. Preservation check: Verify other settings aren't accidentally removed

On validation failure: Inform user of issue and suggest corrections.

Preserving Existing Settings

Critical principle: Only modify attribution object, preserve everything else.

Settings.local.json Preservation

When updating .claude/settings.local.json:

  • Only modify the attribution object
  • Preserve all other keys (statusLine, model, hooks, etc.)
  • When updating only commit, preserve existing pr
  • When updating only pr, preserve existing commit
  • Use jq to merge rather than overwrite

Example merging logic (update commit only):

jq --arg newCommit "Co-Authored-By: Big Dawg <noreply@anthropic.com>" \
   '. + {
     "attribution": {
       "commit": $newCommit,
       "pr": (.attribution.pr // "🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)")
     }
   }' .claude/settings.local.json

Attribution Field Preservation

When user updates one field:

  • Updating commit → Preserve PR (use existing value or default)
  • Updating PR → Preserve commit (use existing value or default)
  • Both specified → Update both

Default values if field doesn't exist:

  • Commit: "Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>"
  • PR: "🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)"

Examples

See examples/ directory for complete working examples:

  • examples/name-change.json - Changing Claude's name
  • examples/remove-model.json - Removing model from attribution
  • examples/custom-pr.json - Custom PR attribution
  • examples/remove-all.json - Removing all attribution
  • examples/partial-update.json - Updating only one field

Additional Resources

Reference Files

For detailed information:

  • references/attribution-formats.md - Complete attribution format guide

Error Handling

Directory Creation

If .claude/ doesn't exist, create it automatically:

mkdir -p .claude

File Creation

If settings file doesn't exist, create with empty object:

echo '{}' > .claude/settings.local.json

Malformed JSON

If existing file contains invalid JSON:

  1. Detect using jq empty
  2. Abort the operation
  3. Ask user to fix JSON manually before proceeding
  4. Do NOT attempt automatic fixes

Backup Recovery

If user wants to revert:

  1. Restore from backup
  2. Remove backup file
  3. Confirm restoration complete

User Confirmation

When removing attribution:

  1. Always confirm scope (commit only, PR only, or both)
  2. Show current values being removed
  3. Wait for explicit confirmation before proceeding

Notes

  • Attribution settings take effect on next commit or PR creation
  • Empty strings ("") completely hide attribution
  • Git trailers appear at end of commit message
  • PR attribution appears in PR description
  • Use jq for all JSON operations to ensure validity
  • Always preserve settings the user didn't explicitly request to change
  • When in doubt about model inclusion, ask the user
  • Backup workflow provides safety without cluttering workspace
Install via CLI
npx skills add https://github.com/aaronbassett/agent-foundry --skill settings-presetsconfigure-attribution
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