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[PATCH 0/3] support UTF-8 in alias names

From
Jonatan Holmgren <jonatan@jontes.page>
Date
Feb 10, 2026, 22:27 UTC
Message-ID
<20260210222745.78575-1-jonatan@jontes.page>
In-Reply-To
<3124b359-2929-4f3f-9ac6-793277fe422b@jontes.page>
Hi all,
This v3 addresses all feedback from Junio on v2. Changes since v2:
- Split into three commits: a preparatory refactoring, a compatibility-
  breaking change separated explicitly, and the main feature
- Preserved error checking for value-less alias config (config_error_nonbool)
- Fixed behavior when !value to preserve adding items to list while keeping
  util as NULL
- Improved commit messages to say "ASCII alphanumeric" and better explain
  that aliases are implemented as config variable names
- Tests now properly verify value-less command key handling

The implementation follows Peff's suggestion to use config subsections rather than modifying the config key syntax. This allows arbitrary bytes in alias names while maintaining backward compatibility.

Suggested release note blurb:
 * Git aliases now support UTF-8 characters and special characters
   in alias names through subsection syntax: `[alias "name"] command = value`.
   This enables aliases in non-English languages. The traditional syntax
   (without subsection, e.g., `[alias] co = checkout`) continues to work.
Jonatan Holmgren (3):
  help: use list_aliases() for alias listing
  alias: prepare for subsection aliases
  alias: support non-alphanumeric names via subsection syntax
 Documentation/config/alias.adoc | 43 ++++++++++++++++++-----
 alias.c                         | 40 +++++++++++++++++++---
 help.c                          | 39 +++++++++++----------
 t/t0014-alias.sh                | 60 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 4 files changed, 150 insertions(+), 32 deletions(-)
-- 
2.53.0
Previous: Patrick SteinhardtNext: Jonatan Holmgren
Message 29 of 88 in “[RFC] Support UTF-8 characters in Git alias names”
  1. Jonatan HolmgrenFeb 8, 2026
  2. D. Ben KnobleFeb 8, 2026
  3. brian m. carlsonFeb 8, 2026
  4. Junio C HamanoFeb 9, 2026
  5. Jonatan HolmgrenFeb 9, 2026
  6. Junio C HamanoFeb 9, 2026
  7. brian m. carlsonFeb 9, 2026
  8. Junio C HamanoFeb 9, 2026
  9. Ben KnobleFeb 10, 2026
  10. Junio C HamanoFeb 10, 2026
  11. Jeff KingFeb 10, 2026
  12. Jeff KingFeb 9, 2026
  13. Theodore TsoFeb 9, 2026
  14. alias: support UTF-8 characters via subsection syntaxJonatan Holmgren, Feb 9, 2026
  15. Jeff KingFeb 10, 2026
  16. Torsten BögershausenFeb 10, 2026
  17. Junio C HamanoFeb 10, 2026
  18. 0/2 support UTF-8 in alias namesJonatan Holmgren, Feb 10, 2026
  19. 1/2 help: use list_aliases() for alias listing and lookupJonatan Holmgren, Feb 10, 2026
  20. Junio C HamanoFeb 10, 2026
  21. 2/2 alias: support non-alphanumeric names via subsection syntaxJonatan Holmgren, Feb 10, 2026
  22. Junio C HamanoFeb 10, 2026
  23. Jonatan HolmgrenFeb 10, 2026
  24. Kristoffer HaugsbakkFeb 23, 2026
  25. Kristoffer HaugsbakkFeb 23, 2026
  26. Junio C HamanoFeb 23, 2026
  27. Kristoffer HaugsbakkFeb 23, 2026
  28. Patrick SteinhardtFeb 24, 2026
  29. 0/3 support UTF-8 in alias namesJonatan Holmgren, Feb 10, 2026
  30. 1/3 help: use list_aliases() for alias listingJonatan Holmgren, Feb 10, 2026
  31. Junio C HamanoFeb 10, 2026
  32. 2/3 alias: prepare for subsection aliasesJonatan Holmgren, Feb 10, 2026
  33. 3/3 alias: support non-alphanumeric names via subsection syntaxJonatan Holmgren, Feb 10, 2026
  34. 0/3 support UTF-8 in alias namesJonatan Holmgren, Feb 11, 2026
  35. 2/3 alias: prepare for subsection aliasesJonatan Holmgren, Feb 11, 2026
  36. Junio C HamanoFeb 11, 2026
  37. 1/3 help: use list_aliases() for alias listingJonatan Holmgren, Feb 11, 2026
  38. Junio C HamanoFeb 11, 2026
  39. 3/3 alias: support non-alphanumeric names via subsection syntaxJonatan Holmgren, Feb 11, 2026
  40. Junio C HamanoFeb 11, 2026
  41. Richard KerryFeb 12, 2026
  42. Jonatan HolmgrenFeb 12, 2026
  43. Jonatan HolmgrenFeb 12, 2026
  44. Torsten BögershausenFeb 12, 2026
  45. Jonatan HolmgrenFeb 12, 2026
  46. 0/4 support uTF-8 in alias namesJonatan Holmgren, Feb 16, 2026
  47. 4/4 completion: fix zsh alias listing for subsection aliasesJonatan Holmgren, Feb 16, 2026
  48. D. Ben KnobleFeb 16, 2026
  49. Junio C HamanoFeb 17, 2026
  50. 2/4 alias: prepare for subsection aliasesJonatan Holmgren, Feb 16, 2026
  51. 1/4 help: use list_aliases() for alias listingJonatan Holmgren, Feb 16, 2026
  52. 3/4 alias: support non-alphanumeric names via subsection syntaxJonatan Holmgren, Feb 16, 2026
  53. 0/4 support UTF-8 in alias namesJonatan Holmgren, Feb 18, 2026
  54. 2/4 alias: prepare for subsection aliasesJonatan Holmgren, Feb 18, 2026
  55. Kristoffer HaugsbakkFeb 18, 2026
  56. 1/4 help: use list_aliases() for alias listingJonatan Holmgren, Feb 18, 2026
  57. 4/4 completion: fix zsh alias listing for subsection aliasesJonatan Holmgren, Feb 18, 2026
  58. 3/4 alias: support non-alphanumeric names via subsection syntaxJonatan Holmgren, Feb 18, 2026
  59. 0/4 support UTF-8 in alias namesJonatan Holmgren, Feb 18, 2026
  60. 1/4 help: use list_aliases() for alias listingJonatan Holmgren, Feb 18, 2026
  61. Jacob KellerFeb 24, 2026
  62. Junio C HamanoFeb 24, 2026
  63. Junio C HamanoFeb 25, 2026
  64. Jacob KellerFeb 26, 2026
  65. Jacob KellerFeb 24, 2026
  66. 2/4 alias: prepare for subsection aliasesJonatan Holmgren, Feb 18, 2026
  67. 3/4 alias: support non-alphanumeric names via subsection syntaxJonatan Holmgren, Feb 18, 2026
  68. Kristoffer HaugsbakkFeb 24, 2026
  69. Jonatan HolmgrenFeb 24, 2026
  70. Kristoffer HaugsbakkFeb 24, 2026
  71. 4/4 completion: fix zsh alias listing for subsection aliasesJonatan Holmgren, Feb 18, 2026
  72. Junio C HamanoFeb 19, 2026
  73. Jonatan HolmgrenFeb 19, 2026
  74. 0/2 Fix small issues in alias subsection handlingJonatan Holmgren, Feb 24, 2026
  75. 1/2 doc: fix list continuation in alias subsection exampleJonatan Holmgren, Feb 24, 2026
  76. Junio C HamanoFeb 24, 2026
  77. Kristoffer HaugsbakkFeb 24, 2026
  78. Junio C HamanoFeb 24, 2026
  79. 2/2 alias: treat empty subsection [alias ""] as plain [alias]Jonatan Holmgren, Feb 24, 2026
  80. Junio C HamanoFeb 26, 2026
  81. 0/3 Fix small issues in alias subsection handlingJonatan Holmgren, Feb 26, 2026
  82. 2/3 alias: treat empty subsection [alias ""] as plain [alias]Jonatan Holmgren, Feb 26, 2026
  83. 1/3 doc: fix list continuation in alias subsection exampleJonatan Holmgren, Feb 26, 2026
  84. Kristoffer HaugsbakkMar 3, 2026
  85. Jonatan HolmgrenMar 3, 2026
  86. 3/3 git, help: fix memory leaks in alias listingJonatan Holmgren, Feb 26, 2026
  87. Junio C HamanoFeb 26, 2026
  88. doc: fix list continuation in alias.adocJonatan Holmgren, Mar 3, 2026

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