GitHub Anxiety

I’ve now moved to codeberg.org. Not using AWS codec commit or GitHub, here is why. Resulting in the processes described here being redundant for me.

As a developer, GitHub has become an integral part of my life. I constantly discover new projects to follow, push my work, and simply enjoy the platform. GitHub is truly fantastic, and I must admit that I spend an astonishing amount of time there. However, there is a problem, and it lies with me rather than with GitHub.

Anxiety

GitHub fills me with anxiety and makes me feel like I should always be doing more. Ideally, I would love to work on my projects every day, but life doesn’t always allow for that. Unfortunately, it seems like GitHub penalizes me for this. I want to emphasize that these are purely my experiences, and I have nothing but praise for GitHub and its contributions to the Open Source community. Nevertheless, certain features trigger my anxiety.

Activity

GitHub displays a graph on your profile page that showcases your activity. It includes commits, pull requests, and collaborations on issues across various repositories. This graph provides a great overview of what you or other users have been up to on the platform. I must admit that, from a hiring perspective, when I receive a CV claiming extensive activity within the Open Source community, I tend to explore the person’s profile a bit further.

Due to the influence of this GitHub feature and the way people are often judged based on their activity graphs, I have found myself making minor code changes and pushing them just to keep the graph looking busy. This behavior is entirely in my head, as I have no followers on GitHub, and I have no intentions of changing my employment, so my profile isn’t a showcase for me. However, this issue is exacerbated by the number of memes circulating that feature the GitHub activity graph.

AWS CodeCommit

Similarly to most developers, I spend a significant amount of time using AWS. To alleviate the anxiety caused by GitHub activity, I have started implementing a plan that involves utilizing AWS CodeCommit.

For my ongoing projects or those not yet ready for release, I have taken them down from GitHub and pushed them to new repositories within AWS CodeCommit. The git user I use to commit code to AWS shares the same user.name and user. email in the git config as I have for the other GitHub repositories. It’s important to note that the SSH keys are different—I never share SSH keys among services.

I have been following this process for a few weeks now, and I must say that it seems to be working. I no longer feel pressured in the evenings to work on a project, nor do I experience guilt if I miss a day.

Ready for Release

When I believe that a project I have been working on is ready to be shared with the world, I pull the repository down from AWS CodeCommit, switch the remote back to the GitHub repository, and push it up.

Since I use the same git username and email address within the git configuration for both AWS CodeCommit and GitHub, the commits will appear as if they were completed by me and will be included in the GitHub activity graph.

Conclusion

This process has proven effective for me thus far. Additionally, the concept of having multiple remotes for a git repository is not unusual; it aligns with the fundamental purpose of the git source control system. However, please keep in mind that this process may not work for everyone. It is essential to find a system that suits you individually. Never force yourself down a path or process that doesn’t align with your own needs simply because it worked for someone else. We are all unique individuals, and what works for one may not work for another.