Pair

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What is Pair? ​

Pair

Pair is a command-line tool designed to simplify Git co-author management for collaborative development. When multiple developers work on the same code, Pair makes it easy to give proper credit to everyone by adding standardized "Co-authored-by:" trailers to commit messages.

Why use Pair? ​

When collaborating on code, especially during pair or mob programming sessions, it's important to maintain a clear record of who contributed to the work. Git natively supports co-authorship through commit trailers, but managing these manually can be tedious and error-prone.

Manually adding co-authors to commit messages is particularly annoying because:

  • It requires remembering exact name and email formats
  • You need to type the same information repeatedly
  • It's easy to make typos in emails, breaking attribution
  • The syntax must be precise for platforms like GitHub to recognize co-authors
  • It interrupts your workflow when switching between different pairing partners

Pair streamlines this process with intuitive commands that eliminate these frustrations.

Key features ​

  • Maintain a roster of collaborators: Store your frequent collaborators with easy-to-remember aliases
  • Simple command-line interface: Add or remove co-authors with straightforward commands
  • Interactive selection: Use fuzzy-search to quickly find and select co-authors
  • Visibility: See active co-authors at any time with a simple command
  • Git integration: Works seamlessly with Git's commit template mechanism
  • Flexible configuration: Support for both global and project-specific co-author lists

How it works ​

Pair manages Git's commit templates to include "Co-authored-by:" trailers in your commits. These trailers are recognized by GitHub, GitLab, and other Git hosting platforms to properly attribute commits to multiple authors.

Benefits ​

  • Recognition: Ensure all contributors get proper credit for their work
  • Accountability: Track who participated in which code changes
  • Collaboration: Encourage more pair programming by making attribution simple
  • Consistency: Maintain standardized co-author formatting across your commits
  • Efficiency: Save time with quick commands instead of typing out full names and emails
  • Pair is built to be lightweight, easy to use, and integrate seamlessly into your existing Git workflow, making collaborative coding more pleasant and organized.