Getting started

This is a tutorial. You follow the steps in order. At the end you will have Git on your computer and you will have made your first save (commit).

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Step 1: Install Git

Git is a program. You need to put it on your computer first.

• Windows: Go to git-scm.com/download/win. Download and run the installer. Or open a terminal and run: winget install Git.Git
• Mac: Open a terminal. Run: xcode-select --install. Or go to git-scm.com and download for Mac.
• Linux: Open a terminal. Run: sudo apt install git (on Ubuntu or similar).

Check that it worked. Open a terminal. Type:

git --version

You should see a number like 2.43.0. If you see that, Git is installed.

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Step 2: Tell Git your name and email (do this once)

Git needs to know who is making the saves. Type these two lines. Use your real name and email.

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

You only do this once per computer.

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Step 3: Get a project folder

You need a folder that Git can track. You have two choices.

Choice A: Copy a project from the internet (for example from GitHub).

git clone https://github.com/someone/some-repo.git
cd some-repo

Replace the URL with the real URL of the project. Now you are inside that folder.

Choice B: Use a folder you already have on your computer.

Go into that folder in the terminal. Then run:

git init

That makes Git start tracking this folder. The folder is now a repo (short for repository).

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Step 4: Make your first save (commit)

A commit is one saved snapshot. You add a short message so you know what this save is for.

1. Change or add a file in the folder (for example add a line to a text file).
2. In the terminal, run:

git status

You will see a list of files that changed. That’s normal.

3. Tell Git to include all changes in the next save:

git add .

The dot means “everything in this folder”.

4. Save a snapshot with a message:

git commit -m "First commit"

You can change the message to anything. For example: "Add my first file".

You did it. You made your first commit. That means Git has saved a snapshot of your folder.

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Step 5: Send your saves to the internet (optional)

If you use GitHub or a similar site, you can put your repo there so others can see it or so you can open it on another computer.

1. Create a new empty repo on GitHub (no files, no README).
2. In your terminal, run (use your real URL and branch name):

git remote add origin https://github.com/you/your-repo.git
git push -u origin main

After that, when you make more commits, you can run git push to send them to GitHub.

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What next?

• See How the commands fit together (a picture).
• Look up any command on the Cheat sheet.
• Try a How-to guide for a specific task.