---
title: How To Create GitHub Avatars For Pairs
teaser:
tags: git
author: Jessie Young
published_on: 2013-11-21
---

Whether you love or hate pairing, we can all agree that attributing work to both
pair partners is a pain. Enter: The Easiest Solution Possible™.

## Step 1: Create a commit with both of your names

Before you merge your commit, run the following:

    git commit --amend --author="Jessie and Joel <jessie+joel@thoughtbot.com>"

Using my username, then "+" and any text (like
"jessie+any-ignored-text@thoughtbot.com") is valid for Google Apps (read more
[here][gmail]).

[gmail]: http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/2008/03/2-hidden-ways-to-get-more-from-your.html

Once you have changed the author of your commit, you can push it to GitHub.

## Step 2: Add the email address you created above to your Gravatar account

GitHub uses [Gravatar][gravatar] to display user avatars, so you should already
have a Gravatar account. Sign into your account, go to the upper righthand
corner, and click 'add an email address' to add the email address from Step 1.

![''](https://images.thoughtbot.com/github-avatars-for-pairs/gravatar-add-email.png)

[gravatar]: https://help.github.com/articles/how-do-i-set-up-my-avatar

## Step 3: Create a pair avatar

If you're using a Mac, Photo Booth is an easy way to snap a quick picture of you
and your pair. If you want to get a little more creative, [PhotoFunia's Face
swap][face_swap] is a good choice. Here is my face swapped with [Joel][joel]'s:

![''](https://images.thoughtbot.com/github-avatars-for-pairs/pair-avatar.png)

[face_swap]: http://www.photofunia.com/lab/face_swap
[joel]: https://twitter.com/jayroh

## Step 4: Add your new image to Gravatar

Go back to Gravatar and click 'add a new image' to upload your new pair avatar.
Gravatar will ask you where you would like to use this image. Select the email
address you added in Step 2.

Now your commit will go from this:

![''](https://images.thoughtbot.com/github-avatars-for-pairs/gravatar-before.png)

To this:

![''](https://images.thoughtbot.com/github-avatars-for-pairs/gravatar-after.png)

## What's next

If you found this useful, you might also enjoy:

* [Git author attribution with hitch][hitch]
* [Remote Branch][remote]
* [5 Useful Tips for A Better Commit Message][message]

[hitch]: https://github.com/therubymug/hitch
[remote]: https://thoughtbot.com/blog/remote-branch
[message]: https://thoughtbot.com/blog/5-useful-tips-for-a-better-commit-message