Git Credential Cache - Shell-Bash

Git is a popular version control system, widely used by software developers to manage and share their code. Git Credential Cache is a feature that helps developers to cache their Git credentials, which saves time when working with Git repositories.

What is Git Credential Cache?

Git Credential Cache is a mechanism that stores Git credentials securely and enables the Git client to reuse them for a specific period of time. It eliminates the need for the user to repeatedly enter their credentials while accessing Git repositories, which saves time and effort.

How to enable Git Credential Cache?

To enable Git Credential Cache, you need to run the following command in your shell or terminal:

$ git config --global credential.helper cache

This command configures Git to use the credential cache as the default helper for storing Git credentials. Once you run this command, Git automatically caches your Git credentials for a specified period of time.

How to configure Git Credential Cache?

You can configure Git Credential Cache based on your specific use case. The git config command has a number of options that you can use to configure Git Credential Cache.

Expiration time

The --timeout option is used to set the expiration time of the cached credentials. Here's an example of how to set the expiration time to 1 hour:

$ git config --global credential.helper 'cache --timeout=3600'

Maximum cache size

The --max-size option can be used to set the maximum size of the Git credential cache. When the cache reaches the specified size, Git will automatically remove the oldest entries to make space for new ones. Here's an example of how to set the maximum cache size to 5 entries:

$ git config --global credential.helper 'cache --max-size=5'

Setting a credential helper cache

You can also set a specific credential helper cache for a particular Git repository using the --local option. Here's an example of how to set a credential helper cache for a specific repository:

$ git config --local credential.helper cache

Conclusion

Git Credential Cache is a useful feature that helps developers to save time and effort by caching their Git credentials. By enabling and configuring Git Credential Cache, developers can streamline their workflow and focus on writing great code.