Git AI attribution in guest repositories

Git AI stores an authorship log under refs/notes/ai, attached to a commit SHA. The note is not part of that commit’s file tree or commit message, and adding it does not rewrite the commit. Line numbers describe the file at that commit, not necessarily its current version.

The log has an attestation section mapping files and line ranges to attribution keys, a line containing ---, and JSON metadata. Notes are a separate Git ref: an ordinary branch push does not include them. Publishing requires explicitly including a notes ref in the push, through a command, configured refspec, mirror operation, or tool automation. Inspect those settings before assuming notes stay local.

Notes can give reviewers context about which session, harness, and model produced particular lines, and help contributors identify the person to contact about a session. A session ID is useful when discussing a change with its contributor; it is not itself a messaging endpoint. Notes are contributor-supplied records, not proof of correctness, completeness, identity, or review quality. A project can accept, ignore, or decline them independently of its code-review requirements.

Agree on a project policy and record the decision in a discussion or contribution guide. A maintainer can permit pushes to the notes ref and fetch it explicitly:

This fetch updates the local notes ref; inspect any existing local notes first and reconcile divergence rather than forcing an overwrite. Fetching notes does not execute their contents. After consent and privacy review, an authorized contributor can explicitly publish with git push origin refs/notes/ai:refs/notes/ai. Do not copy that push into automation before the project’s decision. Ordinary clones and branch fetches need not retrieve notes; document the agreed retrieval process.

A project can put the following line in CONTRIBUTING.md or AGENTS.md, replacing the discussion placeholder with its decision URL:

.gitignore cannot block notes refs: it controls untracked working-tree files, not refs. The maintainers' request establishes policy; technical enforcement requires a server-side ref restriction or hook. Use hosting rules or branch protection only if that host actually supports covering refs/notes/ai; ordinary protection for branches alone does not necessarily cover notes. Declining remote notes does not require a contributor to stop keeping local attribution. Follow the project’s separate AI-contribution policy in either case.