Hiding git files' last modification date

Question

Is it possible to hide the date when a file was last modified? If not then maybe there's any way of changing the date so it would show a previous date than the actual one?

Using either the Web interface or windows' cmd

There's a need for some type of users to not be able to see this information. Also, there's a need for some old project to hide this information.

Do you have a *good* reason to do this? Also, I see you are primarily a SO user - why do you post this here? — Sven, Mar 12 '17 at 17:14
Better to fess up than commit fraud if you've made a mistake. — ceejayoz, Mar 12 '17 at 19:50
JFYI, git does not store files modification time. Probably you see commit time — Alexey Ten, Mar 13 '17 at 19:23

Sethos II · Answer 1 · 2017-03-12T16:53:53.523

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No, you can't (without rewriting the history and force pushing to the GitHub repository which is a bad idea!). It somewhat defeats the purpose of a version control system which is to track when who changed what.

edited Mar 12 '17 at 16:53

answered Mar 12 '17 at 16:48

Sethos II

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Ok so you say it IS possible. How? – CodeMonkey Mar 14 '17 at 07:28
Technically yes. The keyword is rebase. See for example this: https://blog.jacius.info/2008/06/22/git-tip-fix-a-mistake-in-a-previous-commit/ (at the Update 2008-09-06 part). Change your local time during the `git commit --amend`. Afterwards do a `git push -f`. But my adwise is still: DON'T. – Sethos II Mar 14 '17 at 08:01
Is there a way of doing it after a push was done so the commit date would be an earlier date? – CodeMonkey Mar 14 '17 at 08:31
Yes, this is what the `git push -f` is for. This will override the remote repository with your local one (with the changed commit timestamps). But this will break all other clones of your repository which is bad and the reason why it shouldn't be done. – Sethos II Mar 14 '17 at 08:41

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 12 '17 at 17:12

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you can change your local date before committing, but, as Sethos II said, it won't be advisable

answered Mar 12 '17 at 17:12

egg

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And how do I change the commit date after committing? – CodeMonkey Mar 14 '17 at 07:29

Hiding git files' last modification date

2 Answers2