Git Copycat

A CLI tool that mirrors your GitHub contribution history from a work or secondary account to your main account by creating backdated commits.

Useful when you want your primary GitHub profile to reflect contributions made on other accounts (e.g., work, freelance, or school).

How It Works

1. Fetches the contribution calendar from the source GitHub account
2. Analyzes existing commits in your target repository
3. Creates empty backdated commits to match the source contribution count

The tool is idempotent: you can run it multiple times safely. It only creates the commits needed to match the source, skipping dates that already have enough commits.

Commits look like this:

Contribution sync: 2024-01-15 (1/3)
Contribution sync: 2024-01-15 (2/3)
Contribution sync: 2024-01-15 (3/3)

Installation

Prerequisites:

• Bun runtime installed
• GitHub personal access token with read:user scope (and repo scope if using AUTO_PUSH or TARGET_REPO_URL)

git clone https://github.com/nandosobral03/git-copycat
cd git-copycat
bun install

Setup

1. Create a target repository on GitHub where the mirrored commits will live
2. Clone it locally or initialize a new repo and add the remote
3. Copy the example environment file and fill in your values:

cp .env.example .env

Configuration

Edit .env with your configuration:

Variable	Required	Description
GITHUB_TOKEN	Yes	GitHub personal access token (needs read:user scope, and repo scope if using TARGET_REPO_URL)
SOURCE_USERNAME	Yes	GitHub username to copy contributions from (must have public contributions visible)
TARGET_REPO_PATH	*	Path to local target repository
TARGET_REPO_URL	*	HTTPS URL to clone target repo from (alternative to TARGET_REPO_PATH)
GIT_USER_NAME	No	Git user name for commits (required when using TARGET_REPO_URL)
GIT_USER_EMAIL	No	Git user email for commits (required when using TARGET_REPO_URL)
FROM_DATE	No	Start date (ISO format, default: 1 year ago)
TO_DATE	No	End date (ISO format, default: today)
DRY_RUN	No	Set to true to preview without creating commits
AUTO_PUSH	No	Set to true to automatically push commits
CI	No	Set to true to skip interactive confirmation (for CI/CD)

* Either TARGET_REPO_PATH or TARGET_REPO_URL is required.

Usage

bun run start

Running as a GitHub Action

You can run git-copycat automatically on a schedule using GitHub Actions.

Setup

1. Create a target repository on GitHub where the mirrored commits will live. It must have at least one commit (can be just a README).
2. Fork or clone this repository
3. Add the following secrets to your repository (Settings > Secrets and variables > Actions):

Secret	Description
GH_PAT	GitHub personal access token with read:user and repo scopes
SOURCE_USERNAME	GitHub username to copy contributions from
TARGET_REPO_URL	HTTPS URL of your target repository (e.g., https://github.com/user/repo.git)
GIT_USER_NAME	Your git commit author name
GIT_USER_EMAIL	Your git commit author email (see note below)

4. The workflow runs daily at 6:00 AM UTC. You can also trigger it manually from the Actions tab.

Customization

Edit .github/workflows/sync.yml to change the schedule or other settings.

Important: Making Contributions Appear

For commits to show up on your GitHub contribution graph, all of these must be true:

1. Email must match - Your git email (git config user.email or GIT_USER_EMAIL in CI) must be linked to your GitHub account. Important: If your email is set to "Private" in GitHub email settings, commits using that email won't be linked to your profile. Use your GitHub noreply email instead: <your-user-id>+<username>@users.noreply.github.com (you can find this in your GitHub email settings).
2. Enable private contributions on your git contribution graph. (If your target repo is private, remember to enable "Private contributions" in your GitHub profile settings)
3. Commits must be on the default branch - Usually main or master.
4. Repo cannot be a fork - Commits in forks don't count unless merged upstream.

Run DRY_RUN=true first to preview what will be created.

Undo / Cleanup

If you need to remove the generated commits:

# Find the commit hash before the sync started
git log --oneline

# Reset to that commit (destructive - loses all commits after)
git reset --hard <commit-hash>

# Force push to update remote
git push --force

Or just delete the target repository entirely if it was created only for this purpose.

Disclaimer

GitHub contribution graphs have always been trivial to fake. This tool doesn't change that. The graph works on an honor system; it's a rough signal, not a verified credential. This tool is intended for consolidating your own legitimate work across accounts, not for misrepresenting your activity. Use your own judgment