# Git notes

11 Hacker News commenters recommended Git notes and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 7 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** People recommend git notes for attaching metadata to commits without changing commit hashes or cluttering history, though notes do not sync by default.

## Why people recommend it

- Keeps commit hashes and history unchanged (5 comments): "git notes is better for signature metadata because it doesn't change the commit hash to add signatures for the commit" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46964096)) "So it doesn't seem that normal commit history is affected - git stores notes specially, outside of the commit" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47213999)) "adjacent to commits, follows branch structure, easy to instrument, doesn't muddy the commit history" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49912734))
- Lives alongside commits in the repo (4 comments): "It's all in the same place, you can push them, and Claude Code just needs to be told that they exist." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46508685)) "adjacent to commits, follows branch structure, easy to instrument, doesn't muddy the commit history" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49912734)) "you could use `git notes` to attach agent state as checkpoints to Trees, Commits, Tags etc." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46968119))
- Good fit for AI agent context (4 comments): "you could use `git notes` to attach agent state as checkpoints to Trees, Commits, Tags etc." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46968119)) "git notes is a good side channel that allows bots to keep context clues with commits" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49005238)) "I think it's a perfect match for this case." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47214750))
- Easy for bots and agents to use (3 comments): "It's all in the same place, you can push them, and Claude Code just needs to be told that they exist." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46508685)) "adjacent to commits, follows branch structure, easy to instrument, doesn't muddy the commit history" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49912734)) "git notes is a good side channel that allows bots to keep context clues with commits" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49005238))

## What people warn about

- Notes do not sync by default (2 comments): "that's why I chose git notes. If you do not sync them you have no knowledge of their existence." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47214115)) "those don't sync by default which causes its own kind of friction" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49629046))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Git worktree](https://hackerapproved.com/p/git-worktrees.md): 58 recommend
- [git rebase](https://hackerapproved.com/p/git-rebase.md): 24 recommend
- [git rerere](https://hackerapproved.com/p/git-rerere.md): 19 recommend
- [Git submodules](https://hackerapproved.com/p/git-submodules.md): 14 recommend
- [git add -p](https://hackerapproved.com/p/git-add-p.md): 13 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Git notes", https://hackerapproved.com/p/git-notes/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).