### How Git Stores Commit Timestamps
When you make a commit in Git, two distinct timestamps are attached to the commit object:
1. GIT_AUTHOR_DATE: The original date when the code change was authored. 2. GIT_COMMITTER_DATE: The timestamp when the commit was applied to the repository.
GitHub uses the GIT_AUTHOR_DATE timestamp to populate your contribution graph grid!
---
Overriding Timestamps via Command Line
You can manually backdate a Git commit using environment variables in Bash or PowerShell:
GIT_AUTHOR_DATE="2026-01-15T12:00:00" GIT_COMMITTER_DATE="2026-01-15T12:00:00" git commit -m "Historical planning commit" --allow-empty
---
Automating via Python or Bash Scripts
Instead of manually running hundreds of CLI commands, GitLegacy generates fully executable Bash (.sh) or Python (.py) scripts.
---
Best Practices
- Always run commit scripts inside a dedicated repository (e.g., gitlegacy) to keep your production repositories clean.
- Ensure your local Git email matches your primary GitHub account email so GitHub attributes the contributions to your profile.