Git identity prompt always appearing

[cvande04]

Prerequisites

• Put an X between the brackets on this line if you have done all of the following:
  • Reproduced the problem in Safe Mode: https://flight-manual.atom.io/hacking-atom/sections/debugging/#using-safe-mode
  • Followed all applicable steps in the debugging guide: https://flight-manual.atom.io/hacking-atom/sections/debugging/
  • Checked the FAQs on the message board for common solutions: https://discuss.atom.io/c/faq
  • Checked that your issue isn't already filed: https://github.com/issues?utf8=✓&q=is%3Aissue+user%3Aatom
  • Checked that there is not already an Atom package that provides the described functionality: https://atom.io/packages

Description

Hello, I am a long-time Atom user but a first-time poster. I ran into a novel bug earlier today regarding the Git package, specifically the Git identity prompt. Please let me know if the description of the problem is unclear in any way:

The Git Identity prompt appears every time I open the Git panel in Atom. It asks me to enter my Git username and email. However, I have run both git config --global user.name and git config --global user.email (including prior to the bug manifesting) and double-checking the config file shows that the values are set properly:

[user]
	name = (my username)
	email = (my email)
[github]
	user = (my username)

For a file in a repository that is initialized on Github, the Git identity panel often (but not always) pre-populates the fields with my username and email as found in the config file. For a file in a repository that has not been initialized, the name and email address fields are blank. Switching between two repositories, regardless of whether they are initialized or not, often (but not always) results in the Git identity prompt reappearing, even if I have just used it to sign in moments before switching, and even if I can initially see the Git panel for a few moments before the identity prompt appears. Sometimes, the identity panel will flicker rapidly back-and-forth between having the fields pre-populated and having them blank over the course of a few seconds. After this, trying to re-enter my username or email in the fields often results in glitches, where the character I typed appears in the field for a fraction of a second before vanishing as if I had hit the backspace key. I have tried everything in the debugging guide, including uninstalling/reinstalling Atom and disabling/re-enabling the Git package, as well as re-entering the git config --global values for name and email and repeatedly restarting my computer.

My guess is that it has something to do with my Git credentials, given that it is the Git identity prompt that glitches and that sometimes the fields are not pre-populated with my name and email as I have them configured, but for the life of me I cannot figure out what it is. Running git config user.name or git config user.email brings up the correct values, regardless of repository. I do not have any local configs (i.e. I do not have git config username without the global flag to set any values in any of the repositories in question). Any help would be appreciated; the bug is interrupting my workflow and (in some cases) preventing me from using Atom's Git interface entirely.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Open Atom
2. Open a file from a repository
3. Open Git tab
   4 (optional). Switch between files in different repositories.

Expected behavior:

Git tab (unstaged/staged changes, commit message field, list of past commits) is displayed.

Actual behavior:

Git identity panel is displayed, sometimes after a few seconds of seeing the Git tab and sometimes not; sometimes with the fields pre-populated with my username and email and sometimes not.

Reproduces how often:

95% (occasionally, switching between files of two different repositories that are both initialized will not cause the prompt to reappear).

Versions

Atom : 1.53.0
Electron: 6.1.12
Chrome : 76.0.3809.146
Node : 12.4.0

apm 2.5.2
npm 6.14.8
node 12.4.0 x64
atom 1.53.0
python 2.7.8
git 2.22.0.windows.1
visual studio

OS Name: Microsoft Windows 10 Home
Version: 10.0.19041

Additional Information

I should note that one of the repositories is linked to Heroku, although the error is not exclusive to that one repository.

[UziTech]

This issue should be on the https://github.com/atom/github repo.

[sweetsweetstefan]

This just started happening for me today as well. The Git Identity panel keeps coming up, and it has never behaved this way before. I was able to reproduce the error in safe mode when switching between files in different GitHub repos. I see the same behaviour where some repos have my information already filled in the fields, and other repos have the fields blank. Here are my versions:

Atom : 1.53.0
Electron: 6.1.12
Chrome : 76.0.3809.146
Node : 12.4.0

This is on MacOS 10.14.6.

[markdynamo6]

Same here (same version as @sweetsweetstefan ), but on Windows.

[smashwilson]

Oh yuck, I'm sorry you're hitting this. I had a few issues like this during development but I thought I'd managed to squash them - I haven't seen it happen myself since then (across a few machines and platforms). Apparently not!

Not sure how soon I'll be able to look into a fix unfortunately (quarantine parenting, etc). I'll flag this for attention the next time I do get time, but if anyone else has the chance to investigate before me I would ❤️ a pull request here 😇 and promise a quick review!

[markdynamo6]

No hassles Ash. Thanks for the quick reply.

[jakubmuransky]

After upgrade to macOS BigSur this problem appears

[Alterraia]

This has been happening since 2018. They have never fixed it. They maybe patch it, but then when they make an update to Atom, it breaks the patch and reverts back to this.

I've seen vague responses since this first started happening, but nothing actually helpful and no real resolution. If the root of the issue is not fixed, it is going to happen again, as it is happening now, and we will be here doing this all over again.

[smashwilson]

The git identity panel was added on 6 April 2020, so if this has been "happening since 2018" that would be pretty impressive.

Are you confusing the git identity panel with something else? We have three distinct identities at play in this package - the username and email that git uses to construct commits; the token and GitHub account used to push and fetch changes to and from remotes; and the token and GitHub account used to interact with the GitHub API to fetch pull request data and review comments and the like. Have you been having problems with one of those, instead?

[Alterraia]

I'm only using Atom, but the issue that I am having I have seen dated as far back as 2018. Maybe it was called something else then or it was the previous version, but the Git Identity panel is repeating the problem that was happening before. Putting a new face on the method to log in doesn't fix the underlying issue. I initially google searched my issue in hopes to find a resolution, which is how I found this issue isn't new. It's just a new version of the same issue.

[jakubmuransky]

In my case is problem with "classic" Git I don't use GitHub plugin

[Alterraia]

I'm new to using Git. I used Atom then replaced the original file with my new file. Git is more convenient. Am I able to just bypass Atom for now and upload directly from Git? I have things I need to push in a few hours. It takes minutes to do, but I figure if git is up to date, then i can pull and update my files on my PC.

[smashwilson]

I initially google searched my issue in hopes to find a resolution, which is how I found this issue isn't new. It's just a new version of the same issue.

Can you link the issue you think this is a duplicate of?

[smashwilson]

Am I able to just bypass Atom for now and upload directly from Git? I have things I need to push in a few hours. It takes minutes to do, but I figure if git is up to date, then i can pull and update my files on my PC.

Yes, of course. You can always use git on the command line (or any other git client, like GitHub Desktop) to do anything git-related.

[Alterraia]

I think this is it. It was a few days ago when I was searching it and there was a lot of school work assignments and web searches between then and now. But the description and the problem seems identical to what I'm experiencing now, only mine is using the 2020 version.

#1353