What is the Sign Off feature in Git for?

Question

What's the point of the Sign Off feature in Git?

git commit --signoff

When should I use it, if at all?

Answer 1

Example commit:

Add tests to statement printer.

Signed-off-by: Super Developer <[email protected]>

It should contain the user real name if used for an open-source project.

Let us say the branch maintainer needs to modify patches in order to merge them, he could ask the submitter to rediff, but it would be counter-productive. He can adjust the code and put his sign-off at the end so the author still gets credit for the patch and not the introduced bugs.

Add tests to statement printer.

Signed-off-by: Super Developer <[email protected]>

[[email protected]: Renamed test methods according to naming convention.]

Signed-off-by: Uber Developer <[email protected]>

Sign-off is a line at the end of the commit certifies who is the author of the commit. Its main purpose is to improve tracking of who did what, especially with patches.