Is there any way to change displayed username on fossil scm timeline

Question

Some users were created with the wrong name and these users have been using the fossil for a long time. Is there any way to modify just the name that is displayed on the timeline? I know I can create a new user, but I would prefer to just change the name that is displayed. I would like "maMaco" to be displayed as "maLaco"

Answer 1

(A long-time fossil contributor here.)

The user name is baked into the checkin manifest but a checkin can be "amended" at any point, in which case that name will be used for the timeline entry of that checkin:

fossil amend --author maLaco A_CHECKIN_HASH

All artifacts in fossil are immutable, so amending does not change the checkin. Rather, it effectively adds a note which says, "this is an amendment to the given checkin." (The amendment itself is also an immutable artifact.)

Changing the name long-term requires using the desired name when you check in.

Edit: for future reference: you'll get more much timely responses over in the fossil's own forum (just follow the forum link on the home page). Posting may be done anonymously, it doesn't require creating an account, but anonymous posts must await approval from a moderator.