diff --git a/nostr/commit-signatures.jsonl b/nostr/commit-signatures.jsonl
index f39d98d..d1b5452 100644
--- a/nostr/commit-signatures.jsonl
+++ b/nostr/commit-signatures.jsonl
@@ -112,3 +112,4 @@
 {"kind":1640,"pubkey":"573634b648634cbad10f2451776089ea21090d9407f715e83c577b4611ae6edc","created_at":1772193104,"tags":[["author","Silberengel","silberengel7@protonmail.com"],["message","bug-fixes"]],"content":"Signed commit: bug-fixes","id":"02dcdcda1083cffd91dbf8906716c2ae09f06f77ef8590802afecd85f0b3108a","sig":"13d2b30ed37af03fd47dc09536058babb4dc63d1cfc55b8f38651ffd6342abcddc840b543c085b047721e9102b2d07e3dae78ff31d5990c92c04410ef1efcd5b"}
 {"kind":1640,"pubkey":"573634b648634cbad10f2451776089ea21090d9407f715e83c577b4611ae6edc","created_at":1772220851,"tags":[["author","Silberengel","silberengel7@protonmail.com"],["message","bug-fixes"]],"content":"Signed commit: bug-fixes","id":"d98d2d6a6eb27ba36f19015f7d6969fe3925c40b23187d70ccc9b61141c6b4b7","sig":"8727e3015e38a78d7a6105c26e5b1469dc4d6d701e58d5d6c522ab529b4daa2d39d4353eb6d091f3c1fd28ad0289eae808494c9e2722bf9065dd2b2e9001664f"}
 {"kind":1640,"pubkey":"573634b648634cbad10f2451776089ea21090d9407f715e83c577b4611ae6edc","created_at":1772223624,"tags":[["author","Silberengel","silberengel7@protonmail.com"],["message","bug-fixes"]],"content":"Signed commit: bug-fixes","id":"99cb543f1e821f1b7df4bbde2b3da3ab3a09cda7a1e9a537fe1b8df79b19e8e8","sig":"762a7ea92457ce81cc5aae9bc644fb9d80f90c7500035fbb506f2f76a5942333b828cc8a59f7656b0e714b15a59158be0a671f51476be2e8eabe9731ced74bcb"}
+{"kind":1640,"pubkey":"573634b648634cbad10f2451776089ea21090d9407f715e83c577b4611ae6edc","created_at":1772226191,"tags":[["author","Silberengel","silberengel7@protonmail.com"],["message","bug-fixes"]],"content":"Signed commit: bug-fixes","id":"20be97351d2b05fa7ad9e161b2619e9babaaffc6a8090057c1a3ac50a0f08d6a","sig":"a174c7dd39f613dd88260ef5c111b943df381b0acae20d048596e11ef1a6b0e3c1bfb9a8858af3df0f8858c4c79d1e2d03ad248a0608ac5d5cded6a81e99af77"}
diff --git a/src/lib/services/git/file-manager.ts b/src/lib/services/git/file-manager.ts
index d2d8ca2..d2c66c6 100644
--- a/src/lib/services/git/file-manager.ts
+++ b/src/lib/services/git/file-manager.ts
@@ -388,6 +388,33 @@ export class FileManager {
         // For empty repos, we need to create an empty commit first, then create the branch
         // This is the only way git will recognize the branch
         try {
+          // Fetch user profile to get author name and email
+          let authorName = 'GitRepublic User';
+          let authorEmail = 'gitrepublic@gitrepublic.web';
+          try {
+            const { requireNpubHex } = await import('$lib/utils/npub-utils.js');
+            const { fetchUserProfile, extractProfileData, getUserName, getUserEmail } = await import('$lib/utils/user-profile.js');
+            const { DEFAULT_NOSTR_RELAYS } = await import('$lib/config.js');
+            const userPubkeyHex = requireNpubHex(npub);
+            const profileEvent = await fetchUserProfile(userPubkeyHex, DEFAULT_NOSTR_RELAYS);
+            const profile = extractProfileData(profileEvent);
+            authorName = getUserName(profile, userPubkeyHex, npub);
+            authorEmail = getUserEmail(profile, userPubkeyHex, npub);
+            logger.info({ npub, repoName, authorName, authorEmail }, '[FileManager.createBranch] Fetched user profile for author identity');
+          } catch (profileError) {
+            logger.warn({ npub, repoName, error: profileError }, '[FileManager.createBranch] Failed to fetch user profile, using defaults');
+          }
+          
+          // Set git config for user.name and user.email in this repository
+          // This is required for commit-tree to work without errors
+          try {
+            await git.addConfig('user.name', authorName, false, 'local');
+            await git.addConfig('user.email', authorEmail, false, 'local');
+            logger.info({ npub, repoName, authorName, authorEmail }, '[FileManager.createBranch] Set git config for user.name and user.email');
+          } catch (configError) {
+            logger.warn({ npub, repoName, error: configError }, '[FileManager.createBranch] Failed to set git config, will use --author flag');
+          }
+          
           logger.info({ npub, repoName, branchName, repoPath }, '[FileManager.createBranch] Step 1: Creating empty tree for initial commit');
           // Create empty tree object - empty tree hash is always the same: 4b825dc642cb6eb9a060e54bf8d69288fbee4904
           // We'll use mktree to create it if needed
@@ -417,8 +444,10 @@ export class FileManager {
           logger.info({ npub, repoName, branchName, emptyTreeHash }, '[FileManager.createBranch] Step 1 complete: empty tree ready');
           
           logger.info({ npub, repoName, branchName }, '[FileManager.createBranch] Step 2: Creating empty commit');
-          // Create an empty commit pointing to the empty tree
-          const commitHash = await git.raw(['commit-tree', '-m', `Initial commit on ${branchName}`, emptyTreeHash]);
+          // Create an empty commit pointing to the empty tree with author information
+          // Use --author flag to specify author identity (required when git config is not set)
+          const authorString = `${authorName} <${authorEmail}>`;
+          const commitHash = await git.raw(['commit-tree', '-m', `Initial commit on ${branchName}`, '--author', authorString, emptyTreeHash]);
           const commit = commitHash.trim();
           logger.info({ npub, repoName, branchName, commit }, '[FileManager.createBranch] Step 2 complete: empty commit created');