Getting Started with Git

Git is a version control system that helps you track changes in code, collaborate with others, and manage different versions of a project. This guide introduces the core concepts and basic commands to get you started with Git.

What is Version Control?

Version control allows you to:

  • Track the history of changes to files

  • Revert to previous versions if something breaks

  • Work on new features or fixes without affecting the main project

  • Collaborate with others without overwriting each other’s work

Git is a distributed version control system, meaning every user has a complete copy of the project history.

Installing Git

sudo apt update
sudo apt install git

Basic Git Workflow

  1. Initialize a repository

  • Turns a directory into a Git repository

git init

NOTE: This creates a hidden .git subdirectory within the directory that contains necessary structures that git uses to track changes, manage histroy, and perform version control operations for the project directory. If you want to collaborate with others, or back up your code, you will need to create a remote repositroy on GitHub, or GitLab. See: “Connecting to a Remote Repository” below.

  1. Check repository status

  • Allows you to monitor changes made since your last commit

git status

  1. Add files to a staging area

  • Add changes to a your staging area that are ready to be included in your next commit

git add filename
git add . # Adds all files in the directory
git add -p # Sorts through changes to add one by one

  1. Commit changes

  • Create a permanent snapshot of your changes in your local repository

git commit -m "Describe what you changed or added"

  1. View commit history

  • Shows a list of commits made in reverse chronological order

git log

Connecting to a Remote Repository

To collaborate with others, you’ll typically push your code to a platform like GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket. You will need to create the repository from GitHub, or GitLab’s UI. Once created, you can add your initialized local repository to the remote repository by following these steps:

Add a remote repository

git remote add origin https://github.com/yourusername/your-repo.git

Push your code

git push -u origin main

  • The -u (upstream) links your local branch to a remote repository.

Branching and Merging

Creating a new branch

git checkout -b branch-name

Switch branches

git checkout branch-name

Merge a branch

git merge branch-name

Delete a branch

git branch -d branch-name

Cloning a Repository

To download a remote project and work on it:

git clone https://github.com/username/project.git

.gitignore File

Use a .gitignore file to exclude files or directories from being tracked by Git.

Example:

*.log
.env
__pycache__/
node_modules/

Undoing Changes

  • Unstage a file

git reset HEAD filename

  • Discard changes in a file

git checkout -- filename

  • Revert a commit

git revert <commit-id>

  • Remove a file from staging

git rm <file-name>

Resources