Git & GitHub Crash Course For Beginners

Introduction

This tutorial is designed to provide a comprehensive introduction to Git and GitHub for beginners. We will cover fundamental concepts and commands that are essential for version control and collaboration in software development. By the end of the guide, you will have a solid understanding of how to use Git for managing your projects effectively.

Step 1: Understanding Git and GitHub

• What is Git?

  • Git is a distributed version control system that allows multiple people to work on a project simultaneously without conflicts.
  • It tracks changes in files and helps manage collaborative work.

• What is GitHub?

  • GitHub is a platform that hosts Git repositories online, facilitating collaboration and backup.
  • It provides a user-friendly interface for managing Git repositories and sharing projects.

Step 2: Installing Git

• Download and install Git from the official website: git-scm.com.
• Follow the installation prompts for your operating system (Windows, macOS, Linux).
• Verify the installation by opening your terminal (or command prompt) and typing:

  git --version
  

Step 3: Configuring Git

• Set your username and email address, which will be associated with your commits:

  git config --global user.name "Your Name"
  git config --global user.email "youremail@example.com"
  

Step 4: Creating a New Repository

• Create a new directory for your project:

  mkdir my-project
  cd my-project
  

• Initialize a new Git repository:

  git init
  

Step 5: Making Changes and Tracking Them

• Create a new file in your project directory, for example, README.md.
• Add content to the file using any text editor.
• Check the status of your repository to see untracked files:

  git status
  

Step 6: Staging Changes

• Stage the changes you made to prepare them for commit:

  git add README.md
  

• To stage all changes at once, use:

  git add .
  

Step 7: Committing Changes

• Commit your staged changes with a message describing what you did:

  git commit -m "Initial commit with README"
  

Step 8: Viewing Commit History

• To view the commit history, use:

  git log
  

Step 9: Pushing Changes to GitHub

• Create a new repository on GitHub (do not initialize with a README).
• Link your local repository to GitHub:

  git remote add origin https://github.com/username/my-project.git
  

• Push your changes to GitHub:

  git push -u origin master
  

Step 10: Cloning a Repository

• To clone an existing repository from GitHub, use:

  git clone https://github.com/username/existing-repo.git
  

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we covered the basics of Git and GitHub, including installation, configuration, creating repositories, staging and committing changes, and pushing to GitHub. These skills are foundational for effective version control and collaboration in software development. As next steps, consider exploring more advanced Git commands and workflows, such as branching and merging, to enhance your proficiency.