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Git author date vs commit date

Every git commit has two timestamps. Confusing them is why dates “jump” after rebase even when you never meant to change when the work was done.

Author date

Set when the patch was originally authored. Shown by default in git log. This is usually what people mean by “commit date” in casual talk.

Committer date

Set when the commit object was written into the repository. git rebase, cherry-pick, and commit --amend typically refresh the committer date while leaving the author date alone (unless you override env vars).

How to see both

git log --format=fuller -3

Look for AuthorDate and CommitDate in the output.

Which one should you change?

• Author date — wrong timezone on the original work, clock drift while coding, backdating authorship intentionally.
• Committer date — you care about when the commit landed on the branch after rewrite.
• Both — most bulk cleanups; keep them equal unless you have a reason not to.

git-edit-date exposes both as author_date and committer_date columns. Short answers also live in the FAQ; to change author date specifically see change git author date.

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