Before version 1.17, when Gitea needed to change the [git configuration](https://git-scm.com/docs/git-config), it modified the `$HOME/.gitconfig` file. For instance it would [set core.quotePath to false](https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/blob/release/v1.16/modules/git/git.go#L174-L177):
```ini
[core]
quotePath = false
```
When installing Gitea [from docker](https://docs.gitea.io/en-us/install-with-docker/) or [rootless](https://docs.gitea.io/en-us/install-with-docker-rootless/) or even [from binary](https://docs.gitea.io/en-us/install-from-binary/) this `$HOME/.gitconfig` file belongs to a user that is [dedicated to Gitea](https://docs.gitea.io/en-us/install-from-binary/#prepare-environment) and not used by anyone else.
However, if an Gitea installation was done differently and `$HOME/.gitconfig` has been customized because it is shared by a user or another application, there is a good chance that manual modifications were done such as:
```ini
[user]
name = Jane Doe
email = jane@doe.com
```
It is also possible that the file was modified manually by the Gitea admin for other reasons. In both there is a **potential for breakage when upgrading to Gitea >= 1.17 because the location of the file changed**. It must be moved manually to the new location as follows:
The reason why this breaking change was introduced is to workaround [a rare problem](https://gna.org/blog/unsafe-repository-is-owned-by-someone-else/) impacting Gitea installations relying on networked volumes.
