I don't get it - of course this can be done. The easiest way is to use git commit --author="Some Name <some@name.org>" Or commit to the future: git commit --

I don't get it - of course this can be done. The easiest way is to use git commit --author="Some Name <some@name.org>" Or commit to the future: git commit --author="Zager Evans <zager@evans.com>" --date="Fri Aug 3 14:00 2525 +0000" There is no fundamental difference between a commit message and the commit author, its just some meta information attached to the commit. It's up to whoever is responsible to merge pull requests to check if this commit is actually coming from the person you think it is. Signed commits are one option, others would be to send the commit as a patch via mail (also possibly signed), or to open a pull request as a logged in user on an auxiliary meta-platform (which is exactly what Github is).