Why are there commits from a `Lookering` user in my Github repo? (Community)

View the original community article here

Last tested: Feb 5, 2020
 

You may see something like this in your commit history:

And be curious that some random Looker github user has access to their Git repo.

The TLDR:

Lookering is Looker's github user, that initializes branches and does other branch maintenanc-ey stuff. Lookering does not have access to the Git repo, it merely makes commits and merges in certain specific cases.

The Long Version:

In Github, actions aren't really performed by a user per se, in fact it's not necessary to even have a user account to make a commit. What ties actions taken by a user to that user account is the email address included in the request header. You could include any user's email in your commit header, and have the commit show up as that user, or include none at all. Point is, the Lookering user doesn't actually have access to your Git repo, rather the email address was simply included in the header.

https://help.github.com/en/github/committing-changes-to-your-project/why-are-my-commits-linked-to-the-wrong-user

There are a few cases where you'll see Lookering do things in your repo (this is not a comprehensive list, feel free to add):

• When a new branch is created
• When Looker connects to a repo for the first time (or thinks is the first time)