What is $(prefix) on $(prefix)/etc/gitconfig?

Question

gitconfig(1):

If not set explicitly with --file, there are four files where git config will search for configuration options:

...

$(prefix)/etc/gitconfig

    System-wide configuration file.

What is $(prefix) on $(prefix)/etc/gitconfig?

Answer 1

The prefix environment variable git was compiled with. Usually, it's /usr/local, so the path is /usr/local/etc/gitconfig.

More information can be found in the INSTALL file in the git repository.