I recently updated my blog url and it required making a change in GitHub because that’s where my blog is hosted (using the excellent GitHub pages). Basically you need to update your DNS and make some changes to the project settings.
However I noticed some interesting commits in my repository:
All the commits show as coming from my name or cdolivei (my GitHub commit handle). There are 2 ways that I commit to my repository:
- I use the git command line
- I create blog posts using the in-browser editor - which is helpful because it gives a rendered preview of Markdown
However three of the commits, which shows as coming from cdolivei, I did not explicitly commit. All three are around the CNAME change.
GitHub is doesn’t really mention doing this both on the project settings page and in their custom domain docs, but basically when you add/modify the custom domain setting in the project settings page, it automatically add/updates the CNAME file in the repository. While this is a user experience improvement over creating the file yourself, if I was to ask people “How often should GitHub make a commit in your repository on your behalf?” the answer for most people would probably be never.
Maybe the solution is to start signing my commits? :(
GitHub is very popular and a trusted source for millions of projects, and to me, even though the commit is harmless, errodes that trust.