Contribution graph not showing "Co-authored-by" commits

[oriolpiera]

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We usually do pair-programming and we realize that all the "Co-authored-by" commits are not counted in the graph. They are only counted for the one who do the commit. It's a bug or it's a non-feature?
If it is the expected behavior, co-authored commits lose sense.

[Shay350]

This is expected behavior, not a bug.

GitHub contribution graphs are based on authorship and commit attribution, not commit metadata. A commit only counts toward the contribution graph of the author whose Git identity (name + email) is recorded as the commit author, not the co-authors listed in the commit message.

Why Co-authored-by doesn’t affect the graph

The Co-authored-by: trailer is treated as collaboration metadata, not authorship. It exists to:

Give credit in commit history

Improve traceability for pair/mob programming

Show shared work in PRs and logs

…but it does not change how contributions are counted for graphs, stats, or streaks.

What does count toward the graph

A commit contributes to your graph only if:

You are the commit author

The commit email matches (or is linked to) your GitHub account

The commit is pushed to a repository where contributions are counted (not all forks/private repos, depending on settings)

Does this make co-authored commits useless?

Not really — just limited in scope.

Co-authored-by still:

Shows up in commit history and PRs

Clearly documents pair-programming

Helps reviewers and maintainers understand collaboration

But it’s not intended as a contribution-tracking mechanism.

If you want both people credited in graphs

Common approaches teams use:

Alternate who authors the commit

Squash commits and rotate authorship

Use separate commits per driver/navigator

Accept that the graph is an approximation, not a productivity metric

GitHub has been consistent on this for years, and changing it would have major implications for how contribution data is interpreted.

TL;DR:
Expected behavior. Co-authored-by is for attribution and collaboration visibility, not contribution graph credit.

[oriolpiera]

Thanks for your time and the explanation
I personally don't like it, but at the end, is GitHub's decision, an have their own reasons, so that's ok.
Have a nice day.