Author(s): Peter Giannetos
GitHub is the file sharing service we use to share project files. The following guide is a basic intro to Git and GitHub.
Git is an open source version control system used to track changes to projects. It's a very popular source code management (SCM) tool used at the foundation of GitHub.
git-scm.com
GitHub is a cloud based file sharing service that uses Git to manage content.
github.com
Repositories are the project folders of Git. A remote repository stored in the cloud is cloned to your local machine workspace. Next you add any changed files to a staging area. Then you save and describe what changes you made to your local repository. Finally, you push your changes back to the remote repository to share with others.
Branches are different version of a repository used to develope in isolation. The main branch is the primary version of a repository. Project and feature branches are a modified copy of main. When development is completed the branch is merged into it's parent branch, which is most likely main.
There exist many different terminal and GUI style interfaces. Git Bash is a very popular terminal command line interface while GitHub Desktop is a popular GUI interface. Linux and MacOS computer may already have command line interfaces. Download Git and Git Bash at minimum to get started with GitHub.
- Git Bash: git-scm.com/downloads
- GitHub Desktop: desktop.github.com
Note: Git Bash comes packaged with Git
| Commands (Generic) | Description |
|---|---|
git clone [Link] |
Downloads remote repository to your local computer |
git status |
Show state of local repository and staging area |
git log |
Displays recent commits to the current branch |
cd [C:/Desktop/File/Path/] |
Change directory to specified file path |
cd .. |
Go back one file path layer |
| Commands (Contributing) | Description |
|---|---|
git pull |
Download new changes from the remote repository |
git add [File-Name] |
Stages a specified file to be committed |
git add -u |
Stages all modified files to be committed |
git add -A |
Stages all created, edited, delted files to be committed |
git commit -m "Commnet" |
Save and describe incremental changes made |
git push |
Upload changes to remote repository |
| Commands (Branching) | Description |
|---|---|
git branch |
List current and all other branches, Press Q to Quit |
git checkout [Destination Branch] |
Switch to the destination branch |
git checkout -b [New Branch Name] |
Create and switch to a new branch |
git merge [Branch to Merge] |
Merge specified branch to current branch |
| Commands (Cleaning) | Description |
|---|---|
git clean -d -f |
Remove all untracked files (Careful!) |
git clean -d -n |
Dry run remove all untracked files |
git restore * |
Remove all uncommitted local changes |
git stash |
Temporarily save changes in order to switch to a new directory |
git stash pop |
Restore statshed changes |
Note: Use TAB to auto fill file paths/names
- GitHub: GitHub Docs
- GitHub: Git Cheat Sheet
- GitHub: GitHub Training Manual
- W3 Schools: Git and GitHub Introduction
An example worflow of navigating to your working directory "ISS-PCB" and pushing a file to GitHub with the Git Bash termninal. Tip: Use git status to check if each command worked correctly.
See a typo? Think we left some vital information out? Make a branch and edit this file!