Summary

Move custom GitLens metadata (merge targets, merge bases, etc.) from .git/config to a dedicated .git/gk/config file to prevent repository state churn and keep Git configuration clean.

Problem

Currently, GitLens stores custom metadata like gk-merge-target, gk-merge-target-user, and gk-merge-base directly in .git/config. This causes:

• Repository state changes whenever metadata is updated
• Potential conflicts with other tools that monitor or sync Git configuration
• Unnecessary cluttering of the primary Git configuration

Solution

Store all GitLens-specific metadata in a dedicated .git/gk/config file to:

• Keep the primary .git/config clean and unmodified by GitLens
• Prevent repository state churn from metadata updates
• Isolate GitLens metadata from other tools and workflows
• Improve compatibility with shared/synced repositories

Impact

Users working with Git repositories in collaborative or automated environments will no longer see spurious repository state changes caused by GitLens metadata updates.

We will also do a one-time data migration at startup.

Closed by #4956