Beginners guide to Git and Github

As a beginner, Git and GitHub might seem daunting, but they are essential tools for any developer or anyone who wants to collaborate on a project. Git is a version control system, while GitHub is a web-based hosting service for Git repositories. In this blog post, we’ll discuss the basics of Git and GitHub and how to use them.

What is Git?

Git is a distributed version control system that helps track changes to files and directories. With Git, you can keep track of changes to your code, collaborate with others on a project, and revert to previous versions of your code if necessary.
Git is a command-line tool that works on Windows, Mac, and Linux. You can also use Git with a graphical user interface (GUI).

What is GitHub?

GitHub is a web-based hosting service for Git repositories. It provides tools for collaboration, code review, and project management. GitHub lets you store your Git repositories online and collaborate with others on a project.

GitHub offers free and paid plans. The free plan includes unlimited public repositories, while the paid plans provide additional features such as private repositories and advanced collaboration tools.

How to use Git and GitHub?

To get started with Git and GitHub, you need to follow these basic steps:

Step 1: Install Git

First, you need to install Git on your computer. You can download Git from the official website and follow the installation instructions for your operating system.

Step 2: Create a GitHub account

Next, you need to create a GitHub account. Go to the GitHub website and sign up for an account.

Step 3: Create a Git repository

After installing Git and creating a GitHub account, you need to create a Git repository. A Git repository is a folder that contains your code and version history.

To create a Git repository, follow these steps:

1. Create a new folder on your computer.
2. Open the command prompt or terminal and navigate to the folder.
3. Run the command git init to initialize the repository.

Step 4: Add files to the repository

After creating a Git repository, you need to add files to the repository. To add files to the repository, follow these steps:

1. Copy the files you want to add to the repository into the repository folder.
2. Run the command git add . to stage the files for the next commit.

Step 5: Commit changes

After adding files to the repository, you need to commit the changes. A commit is a snapshot of the repository at a specific point in time.

To commit changes, follow these steps:

1. Run the command git commit -m "commit message" to create a new commit.
2. Write a descriptive commit message that explains the changes you made.

Step 6: Push changes to GitHub

After committing changes, you need to push the changes to GitHub. To push changes to GitHub, follow these steps:

1. Create a new repository on GitHub.
2. Run the command git remote add origin [GitHub repository URL] to add the GitHub repository as the remote origin.
3. Run the command git push -u origin main to push the changes to GitHub.

Conclusion

Git and GitHub are essential tools for any developer or anyone who wants to collaborate on a project. In this blog post, we discussed the basics of Git and GitHub and how to use them. With Git and GitHub, you can keep track of changes to your code, collaborate with others on a project, and revert to previous versions of your code if necessary.