Distributing Git AI Extension

Git AI is a git extension that maintains accurate AI authorship tracking with Git Notes.

• Simple Setup: Single binary deployment, no per-repository configuration
• Automatic Hook Triggering: Works without modifying repository hooks
• User Transparency: Developers use git commands as normal
• Easy Updates: Replace the binary to update all users
• No Repository Modification: Doesn't change .git/hooks in repositories

When Git AI is installed:

1. Calls to git are intercepted by the git-ai binary and routed to git. The stdio and the exit code are piped back to the caller making making the interception transparent to the caller.
2. Git AI will update AI Authorship depending on the command being executed. For example:

• When git commit is executed successfully, Git AI will attach an AI Authorship Git Note to the commit.
• When git stash is run, Git AI will also stash working AI Authorship log so it can be restored when the stash is applied.
• When git rebase is run, Git AI will update the AI Authorship of the resulting to accuratly reflect the AI Authorship of the code in the rebased history.

Installation Requirements

• OSX: 14.0+
• Ubuntu 18+ (and likely other Linux distributions from same era)
• Windows: 10+
• Git 2.23+ (must already be installed on the machine)

Installation Steps

Example Linux/Unix installation script: https://github.com/acunniffe/git-ai/blob/main/install.sh Example Windows installation script: https://github.com/acunniffe/git-ai/blob/main/install.ps1

Option A: User-Scoped Directory

Unix/Linux/macOS

• Install the git-ai binary to $HOME/.git-ai/bin/git-ai
• Create symlinks in that directory:
  • git → git-ai
  • git-og → /path/to/original/git
• Ensure executability: chmod +x $HOME/.git-ai/bin/git-ai
• macOS only: remove the quarantine attribute (xattr -d com.apple.quarantine $HOME/.git-ai/bin/git-ai)

Windows

• Install the binary to %USERPROFILE%\.git-ai\bin\git-ai.exe
• Create a copy %USERPROFILE%\.git-ai\bin\git.exe (copy of git-ai.exe)
• Create a batch file %USERPROFILE%\.git-ai\bin\git-og.cmd that calls the original git executable
• Unblock the downloaded files (PowerShell: Unblock-File)

Option B: Overwrite an Existing Git Symlink

Use this when your fleet already exposes git from a shared directory that is locked into PATH (for example /usr/local/bin/git). Pick a writable directory—macOS SIP prevents modifying /usr/bin.

Unix/Linux/macOS

1. Locate the distributed git entry and its directory:

   git_path="$(command -v git)"
   git_dir="$(dirname "$git_path")"

2. Preserve the original git binary:
   • If git_path is a symlink: sudo ln -sf "$(readlink "$git_path")" "$git_dir/git-og"
   • If it's a regular file: sudo mv "$git_path" "$git_dir/git-og"
3. Install the extension alongside it: sudo install -m 0755 /path/to/git-ai "$git_dir/git-ai"
4. Point git at the extension: sudo ln -sf "$git_dir/git-ai" "$git_path"
5. Confirm that "$git_dir/git-og" remains executable—Git AI will delegate to it.

Windows

1. Resolve the shim exposed on PATH (Git for Windows usually surfaces C:\Program Files\Git\cmd\git.exe):

   $gitPath = (Get-Command git).Source
   $gitDir = Split-Path $gitPath

2. Preserve the original git executable:

   if ((Get-Item $gitPath).Attributes -band [IO.FileAttributes]::ReparsePoint) {
       $target = (Get-Item $gitPath).Target
       New-Item -ItemType SymbolicLink -Path (Join-Path $gitDir 'git-og.exe') -Target $target | Out-Null
       Remove-Item $gitPath
   } else {
       Rename-Item -Path $gitPath -NewName 'git-og.exe'
   }

3. Copy the extension into the same directory:

   Copy-Item -Path 'C:\path\to\git-ai.exe' -Destination (Join-Path $gitDir 'git-ai.exe')

4. Replace git.exe with a link to the extension (requires Developer Mode or elevated privileges to create file symlinks). If symlinks are disabled, copy git-ai.exe to git.exe instead.

   New-Item -ItemType SymbolicLink -Path (Join-Path $gitDir 'git.exe') -Target (Join-Path $gitDir 'git-ai.exe')

   # Fallback when symlinks are unavailable
   Copy-Item -Path (Join-Path $gitDir 'git-ai.exe') -Destination (Join-Path $gitDir 'git.exe')

5. Verify that git-og.exe is still runnable: & (Join-Path $gitDir 'git-og.exe') --version

This method keeps the rest of PATH untouched and ensures existing automation continues to call git while Git AI intercepts the command.

PATH Configuration

Unix/Linux/macOS:

• Add $HOME/.git-ai/bin to the beginning of the user's PATH (Option A)
• For Option B, confirm the directory containing git already precedes other Git installations so the new symlink wins
• Update the appropriate shell config file (.zshrc, .bashrc, etc.) when PATH changes are required

Windows:

• Add %USERPROFILE%\.git-ai\bin to the System PATH
• The directory should be positioned before any existing Git installation directories to ensure the git-ai extension takes precedence

Configuration File

Create $HOME/.git-ai/config.json (or %USERPROFILE%\.git-ai\config.json on Windows) with your organization's settings. Always set git_path to the location of the preserved original binary (git-og). See Enterprise Configuration for details.

Example:

{
    "git_path": "/path/to/git-og",
    "ignore_prompts": false,
    "allow_repositories": [
        "https://github.com/yourorg/*"
    ]
}

For Option A, the git_path value should typically point to $HOME/.git-ai/bin/git-og. For Option B, use the absolute path where you stored the preserved binary (for example /usr/local/bin/git-og on macOS/Linux or C:\\Program Files\\Git\\cmd\\git-og.exe on Windows).

IDE/Agent Hook Installation

After installing the binary and configuring PATH, run:

git-ai install-hooks

This sets up integration with supported IDEs and AI coding agents (Cursor, VS Code with GitHub Copilot, etc.).

MDM Deployment

For enterprise deployments, you can use your MDM (Mobile Device Management) solution to:

1. Distribute the Binary: Package and deploy the git-ai binary to the appropriate directory
2. Configure PATH: Use login scripts or profiles to add the git-ai directory to PATH
3. Deploy Configuration: Push the config.json file with organization-specific settings
4. Run Post-Install: Execute git-ai install-hooks via script after installation

Custom Install Script

You can create a custom installation script for your organization. Our official install scripts serve as references:

• Unix/Linux/macOS: install.sh
• Windows: install.ps1

These scripts handle edge cases like:

• Detecting the original git path
• Preventing recursive installations
• Gracefully handling errors
• Setting proper permissions

Verification

After installation, verify the setup:

# Should show git-ai extension
which git

# Should show git-ai version
git --version

# Should show original git
git-og --version