Quick Guide to Github

This is just a quick guide to how to use Git and Github. I found it a little difficult to find a good guide to get started. There are many resources available but they explain it a little differently.

This is just my opinion and the way I am using git and githum so…YMMV.

Overview

Git and Github are 2 parts of a technology for source code version control.

Git is used locally on a computer and tracks the changes that are been made to files in a project. It can be used in a distributed fashion but I don’t think many people use it that way.

GitHub is an online repository where Git controlled files can be stored.

Git and Github work together to provide a way to manage version controlled files for both individuals and teams.

Andrew McWilliam has a great post about the differences between Git and Github, it’s worth a read.

The Process

The basic process for using git/github on a project are:

1. Create a remote repository (at Github)
   • Go to https://github.com/
   • Create an account
   • Create a new repo
   • Click the ‘Clone’ button and copy the path to the clipboard
2. Clone the remote repo to your local machine
   • git clone https://github.com/user/repo-name.git
   • Git will create a new folder using the repo name
3. Create/change files
   • Just create and modify files like you normally would
4. Save your changes to the local repo (git commit)
   • git add . - stages all changed file so they can be commited
   • git commit -m "A message describing the changes"
5. Push the local commit to the Github repo (git push)
   • git push origin HEAD

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Have a question or perhaps a correction? Feel free to contact me at bluesixty@gmail.com.