Commit numbers in Contribution activity history unmatching after working with git-filter-repo

[theplenoh]

🏷️ Discussion Type

Question

Body

The commit numbers in Contribution activity on my Overview page do not match with the actual commits of certain repos after my attempt to change the e-mail address of all the commits.

To be honest, I wasn't strictly precise when I was running CLI commands in my bash terminal.

I ran commands like these:

$ git status

$ git diff

$ git log --format="%an <%ae>" | sort -u

$ nvim ~/mailmap

$ git filter-repo --mailmap ~/mailmap --force

$ git remote add origin https://github.com/theplenoh/asdfasdf.git

$ git push origin --force --all

This is a portion of* the result when I run the command history:

 1661  cd bookmarks/
 1662  ll
 1663  clear
 1664  git status
 1665  git diff
 1666  git log --format="%an <%ae>" | sort -u
 1667  nvim ~/mailmap
 1668  git filter-repo --mailmap mailmap
 1669  exit
 1670  exit
 1671  cd ~/bookmarks/
 1672  git status
 1673  git diff
 1674  git log --format="%an <%ae>" | sort -u
 1675  cat ~/mailmap
 1676  git filter-repo --mailmap mailmap
 1677  git filter-repo --mailmap ~/mailmap
 1678  git status
 1679  git diff
 1680  git filter-repo --mailmap ~/mailmap --force
 1681  git push origin --force --all
 1682  git remote add origin https://github.com/theplenoh/scibx-bookmarks.git
 1683  git stgatus
 1684  git status
 1685  git push origin --force --all
 1686  git diff
 1687  git status
 1688  ls -l
 1689  cat .gitignore 
 1690  cd ..
 1691  ls -l
 1692  cd dashboard/
 1693  ll
 1694  git status
 1695  git diff
 1696  git add index.html images/LanguageTool_Logo.png 
 1697  git commit -m "Update the icon of the English grammar checker"
 1698  git push
 1699  clear
 1700  git diff
 1701  git status
 1702  git diff
 1703  git log --format="%an <%ae>" | sort -u
 1704  cat ~/mailmap 
 1705  git filter-repo --mailmap ~/mailmap
 1706  git filter-repo --mailmap ~/mailmap --force
 1707  git remote add origin https://github.com/theplenoh/scibx-bookmarks.git
 1708  git push origin --force --all
 1709  cd ..
 1710  ls -l
 1711  history
 1712  cd scibx/
 1713  cd ..
 1714  cd bookmarks/
 1715  ls -l
 1716  cat ~/mailmap 
 1717  clear
 1718  ls -l
 1719  clear
 1720  git status
 1721  git diff
 1722  git log --format="%an <%ae>" | sort -u
 1723  ll
 1724  cat ~/mailmap
 1725  git remote add origin https://github.com/theplenoh/scibx-bookmarks.git
 1726  git push origin --force --all
 1727  ls -la
 1728  history
 1729  cd ../dashboard/
 1730  ll
 1731  cd ..
 1732  ll
 1733  cd dashboard/
 1734  ll
 1735  git remote set-url origin https://github.com/theplenoh/scibx-dashboard.git
 1736  git push origin --force --all
 1737  git log
 1738  git log --oneline 
 1739  cd ..
 1740  cd bookmarks/
 1741  git log --oneline 
 1742  cd ..
 1743  clear
 1744  history
 1745  ls -l
 1746  clear
 1747  ls -l
 1748  cd bookmarks/
 1749  cd ..
 1750  cd bookmarks/
 1751  git diff
 1752  git status
 1753  git commit --allow-empty -m "Trigger GitHub contribution graph refresh"
 1754  git push origin main
 1755  git remote set-url origin https://github.com/theplenoh/scibx-bookmarks.git
 1756  git push
 1757  git status
 1758  git push origin
 1759  git push origin --force --all
 1760  history
 1761  cd ..
 1762  cd dashboard/
 1763  git log -n 1 --oneline
 1764  cd ..
 1765  cd bookmarks/
 1766  git log -n 1 --oneline 
 1767  cd ..
 1768  cd dashboard/
 1769  ls -l
 1770  cd .gig
 1771  ls -la
 1772  cd .git/
 1773  ll
 1774  cd logs/
 1775  ll
 1776  cd ..
 1777  ls -l
 1778  cd ..
 1779  git push origin main --force
 1780  cd ..
 1781  cd bookmarks/
 1782  git status
 1783  git diff
 1784  git push origin main --force
 1785  git log --oneline 
 1786  cd ..
 1787  clear
 1788  ls -l
 1789  cd bookmarks/
 1790  git log
 1791  cd ..
 1792  cd dashboard/
 1793  git log --oneline 
 1794  git status
 1795  git diff
 1796  cd ..
 1797  cd bookmarks/
 1798  git diff
 1799  git status
 1800  git log --oneline 
 1801  cd ..
 1802  git dashboard/
 1803  cd dashboard/
 1804  git remote set-url origin https://github.com/theplenoh/scibx-dashboard.git
 1805  git push origin main --force
 1806  cd ..
 1807  cd bookmarks/
 1808  git remote set-url origin https://github.com/theplenoh/scibx-bookmarks.git
 1809  git push origin main --force
 1810  git log
 1811  cd ../dashboard/
 1812  git commit --allow-empty -m "Trigger GitHub contribution graph refresh"
 1813  git push
 1814  git push origin main
 1815  git log
 1816  clear
 1817  cd ..
 1818  ls -l
 1819  cd bookmarks/
 1820  ll
 1821  clear
 1822  git diff
 1823  git status
 1824  cd ..
 1825  cd dashboard/
 1826  git diff
 1827  git staus
 1828  git status
 1829  cd ..
 1830  clear
 1831  ls -l
 1832  cd bookmarks/
 1833  ll
 1834  clear
 1835  git info
 1836  clear
 1837  git mailinfo
 1838  cd ..
 1839  cd bookmarks/
 1840  clear
 1841  git status
 1842  git diff
 1843  cd ..
 1844  ls -l
 1845  cd thoughts/
 1846  ll
 1847  git diff
 1848  git status
 1849  clear
 1850  git status
 1851  ls -l
 1852  clear
 1853  git status
 1854  clear
 1855  git diff
 1856  git status
 1857  git log --format="%an <%ae>" | sort -u
 1858  nvim ~/mailmap 
 1859  git filter-repo --mailmap mailmap
 1860  git filter-repo --mailmap ~/mailmap
 1861  git diff
 1862  git status
 1863  git filter-repo --mailmap ~/mailmap --force
 1864  git remote add origin https://git
 1865  git remote add origin https://github.com/theplenoh/scibx-thoughts.git
 1866  git remote set-url origin https://github.com/theplenoh/scibx-thoughts.git
 1867  git push origin --force --all
 1868  cd ..
 1869  ls -l
 1870  exit
 1871  clear
 1872  ls -l
 1873  exit
 1874  git config --global user.name "Plenoh"
 1875  git config --global user.email "tylrd629@gmail.com"
 1876  git commit --amend --reset-author --no-edit
 1877  cd bookmarks/
 1878  git commit --amend --reset-author --no-edit
 1879  git reset HEAD^
 1880  git status
 1881  git diff
 1882  git push
 1883  git push --set-upstream origin main
 1884  clear
 1885  git diff
 1886  git status
 1887  git log --oneline 
 1888  git revert 56571ca8b3c87f6da310cc43c108869ccff7cc4d
 1889  git reset
 1890  git status
 1891  clear
 1892  git log --oneline 
 1893  git push origin main --force
 1894  clera
 1895  clear
 1896  git diff
 1897  git status
 1898  git log --oneline 
 1899  git reset --hard HEAD~1
 1900  git push origin main --force
 1901  clear
 1902  ls -l
 1903  clear
 1904  git diff
 1905  git status
 1906  clear
 1907  git status
 1908  git diff
 1909  clear
 1910  ls -l
 1911  cd ..
 1912  ls -l
 1913  clear
 1914  ls -l
 1915  cd dashboard/
 1916  clear
 1917  ls -l
 1918  git log --oneline 
 1919  git reset --hard HEAD~1
 1920  git push origin main --force
 1921  clear
 1922  git diff
 1923  git status
 1924  exit
 1925  exit
 1926  ls -l
 1927  cd bookmarks/
 1928  clear
 1929  ls -l
 1930  clear
 1931  git remote -v
 1932  cd ..
 1933  cd dashboard/
 1934  git remote -v
 1935  cd ..
 1936  cd ~/bookmarks/
 1937  git log --format="%an <%ae>" | sort -u
 1938  cd ~/dashboard/
 1939  git log --format="%an <%ae>" | sort -u
 1940  history
 1941  cd ~/bookmarks/
 1942  clear
 1943  git log --format="%an <%ae>" | sort -u
 1944  git status
 1945  git diff
 1946  git push origin --force --all --tages
 1947  git push origin --force --all --tags
 1948  git push origin --force --all --tags
 1949  git push origin --force  --tags
 1950  git reflog
 1951  git log --oneline 
 1952  git status
 1953  git diff
 1954  git status
 1955  git diff
 1956  git log --format="%an <$ae>" | sort -u
 1957  cat ~/mailmap 
 1958  git filter-repo --mailmap ~/mailmap --force
 1959  git remote add origin https://github.com/theplenoh/scibx-bookmarks.git
 1960  git push origin --force --all --tags
 1961  git push origin --force --all 
 1962  git log --format="%an <$ae>" | sort -u
 1963  cd ..
 1964  clear
 1965  ls -l
 1966  cat mailmap 
 1967  exit
 1968  ls -l
 1969  cd bookmarks/
 1970  cat ~/mailmap 
 1971  history
 1972  git push origin main --force --all
 1973  git push origin main --force --tags
 1974  echo "refresh cache" > sync.txt
 1975  cat sync.txt
 1976  git add sync.txt 
 1977  git commit -m "forced index synchronization"
 1978  git push origin main
 1979  git rm sync.txt 
 1980  git commit -m "cleanup synchronization artifact"
 1981  git push origin main
 1982  exit
 1983  ls -l
 1984  cd bookmarks/
 1985  clear
 1986  git log --oneline 
 1987  git reset --hard 56571ca
 1988  git status
 1989  git diff
 1990  git push
 1991  git push origin main
 1992  git push origin main --force
 1993  git log
 1994  git log --format="%an <%ae>" | sort -u
 1995  exit
 1996  ls
 1997  cd bookmarks
 1998  git rev-list --count HEAD
 1999  git log --format="%H %an <%ae>" --first-parent
 2000  exit 
 2001  clear
 2002  ls -l
 2003  clear
 2004  history

I click on commits in Contribution activity of my repo like scibx-bookmarks. I see the message 'No commits history'.

These are examples of mismatching commits history:

August 2026
When I click on 'theplenoh/scibx-bookmarks, 4 commits', I see no commits history.

June 2026
When I click on 'theplenoh/conf-files, 6 commits', 3 commits appear.
'theplenoh/php-calendar, 2 commits', 1 commit appear.

April 2026
'theplenoh/scibx-bookmarks, 4 commits', 2 commits appear.

March 2026
'theplenoh/conf-files, 2 commits', 1 commit appear.

October 2025
'theplenoh/scibx-bookmarks, 26 commits', no commits appear.

September 2025
'theplenoh/scibx-bookmarks, 6 commits', 1 commit appear.

I'm pretty sure there are more cases like these.

What is wrong with my Contribution activity history?
I wish the commit numbers could match.

[karthikj30]

Hey @theplenoh

Please Mark this as answered if this helps you

Nothing is broken, and no history was lost. What you're seeing is two different data sources disagreeing:

• "Contribution activity" counts come from GitHub's contribution index, which is built from commits as they were pushed. Entries in it are essentially append-only — they keep pointing at the old SHAs.
• The commit list you land on when you click is a live query: /<repo>/commits?author=theplenoh&since=…&until=…, restricted to the repo's current default branch.

git filter-repo rewrites every commit, so every SHA changes. The old commits become unreachable the moment you force-push. The index still remembers "4 commits in August 2026", but the branch no longer contains those objects → "No commits history."

Your git reset --hard HEAD~1 / git reset --hard 56571ca + --force pushes did the same thing a second time, which is why the gaps are uneven (6→3, 2→1, 26→0).

The optimistic part

The counts in your graph are the higher of the two numbers, and GitHub does not retroactively delete contribution records. You're not losing green squares — the drill-down link is just stale. Your actual repos are intact; confirm with:

git rev-list --count HEAD
git log --format="%an <%ae> | %cn <%ce>" | sort -u

If that output shows only your intended identity, the rewrite succeeded and the job is done.

What's worth actually fixing

1. Verify every email, including the old ones.
Settings → Emails. Any address that appears as author or committer in the rewritten history must be listed and verified on the account, or those commits will never be attributed. If your mailmap collapsed everything to tylrd629@gmail.com, verify that one — and keep the old address attached too, so pre-rewrite entries stay attributed.

2. Check the default branch actually matches what you pushed.
git push origin --force --all pushes every branch, but the drill-down only reads the default branch. In dashboard and bookmarks, confirm:

git branch -a
git symbolic-ref refs/remotes/origin/HEAD

against repo Settings → Branches. A leftover master default while you push main produces exactly the "No commits history" symptom.

3. Confirm the repos aren't forks. Commits in forks don't count toward contributions at all.

4. Stop rewriting. Every additional filter-repo --force / reset --hard + force-push mints a new orphan SHA set and one more stale index entry. The sync.txt add-then-git rm commits and the empty "Trigger GitHub contribution graph refresh" commits didn't help either — the graph has no manual refresh, and both got wiped by the later hard reset anyway.

5. If you want the numbers to genuinely reconcile: contact GitHub Support. They can request a rebuild of the contribution index for an account. This is the only real lever — there is no user-facing way to force it, and empty commits won't trigger it. Explain that you rewrote history with git-filter-repo and the activity rollup now references dangling SHAs. This is a routine request and they generally do it.

The one thing to double-check before you relax

Compare local and remote commit counts per repo:

git rev-list --count HEAD
git rev-list --count origin/main

If those match, you're fine — the mismatch is purely cosmetic index drift. If local is higher, one of those force-pushes truncated the remote, and you'd want to recover from git reflog before the local objects get garbage-collected (30 days by default, so there's time).

[antoniovasssss]

Hi @theplenoh

Core Technical Cause

• Contribution Graph Indexing: The contribution activity graph uses an append-only index recorded when commits were originally pushed, referencing the original Git SHAs.
• SHA Mismatch: Running git-filter-repo rewrote the repository history, generating entirely new commit SHAs. When you click on historical contribution links, GitHub queries the current default branch for the old SHAs, returning "No commits history" because those commit objects no longer exist on the remote branch.
• Secondary Resets: Running commands like git reset --hard and force-pushing multiple times compounded the mismatch by creating additional orphaned commit SHAs.

Recommended Solution

1. Verify Email Association: Ensure all past and current email addresses used across your commits are added and verified in your [GitHub Email Settings](https://github.com/settings/emails).
2. Confirm Remote Commit Integrities: Verify your local and remote commit counts match to ensure no commits were accidentally lost during force-pushing:

git rev-list --count HEAD
git rev-list --count origin/main

3. Contact GitHub Support: Because GitHub does not provide a self-service trigger to rebuild the contribution index for rewritten commit histories, submit a ticket to [GitHub Support](https://support.github.com/) requesting a manual contribution graph cache rebuild.

[Pusri27]

Hey @theplenoh,

Don't worry, your actual commit history and repositories are fine. What you're seeing is a classic cache desync between GitHub's contribution graph index and the newly rewritten Git history.

Here is what's happening behind the scenes and how to sort it out:

• Why the mismatch happens: When you push commits normally, GitHub's contribution service records an append-only log of those original commit SHAs. Running git filter-repo generated completely new SHAs for every single commit. When you click on a month in your contribution graph, GitHub queries the branch for the old SHAs, but because they were replaced by your force-pushes, the live query comes back as "No commits history".
• Verify your emails: Go to your [GitHub Email Settings](https://github.com/settings/emails) and make sure both your old email and the new tylrd629@gmail.com address are added and verified. If the author email in the rewritten commit isn't tied to your account, GitHub won't link the new SHAs to your profile.
• Stop pushing empty / dummy commits: Adding dummy files or empty commits won't trigger a retroactive recalculation of the graph—it just adds more entries to the log.
• Request a graph rebuild: Because GitHub doesn't have a self-service button to re-index historical contributions after a history rewrite, open a quick ticket at [GitHub Support](https://support.github.com/). Just let them know you rewrote your commit history with git-filter-repo and need a contribution graph cache rebuild for your account. They handle this all the time and can trigger a backend sync to align the numbers.