An (overly) short git tutorial on terminal

An (overly) short git tutorial on terminal

Introduction

Git is a free, open-source distributed version control system that facilitates tracking changes in source code during software development. It is designed to handle projects of any size, from small to very large, with speed and efficiency. Git allows multiple developers to work on the same codebase without stepping on each other’s toes. With Git, you can revert your code back to a previous version, compare changes over time, see who last modified a piece of code that’s causing problems, and more.

To check if Git is installed on your favorite terminal, type:

git --version

If Git is installed, you should see a version number. If not, you’ll need to install it.

Setting Up Git on Terminal (Windows Powershell)

To install Git on Windows, follow these steps:

Download the latest Git for Windows installer here.
When you’ve successfully started the installer, you should see the Git Setup wizard screen. Follow the Next and Finish prompts to complete the installation. The default options are pretty sensible for most users.
Open a new command prompt (Winkey + R then type cmd) and type git --version to verify that it was correctly installed.

Setting Up Git on Terminal (MacOS)

To install Git on MacOS, follow these steps on the MacOS terminal:

brew install git

Open a new terminal prompt and type git --version to verify that it was correctly installed.

Basic Git Commands and Their Use

git clone

git clone is a command for copying an existing Git repository from a remote server. As an example, do:

git clone <repository-url>

After running this command, you’ll have a local copy of the Hello-World repository.

Of course, here’s a short section on the git checkout command:

git checkout

git checkout is a powerful command that is used to switch between branches in a repository. Additionally, it can be used to restore files.

To switch to an existing branch:

git checkout <branch-name>

To create a new branch and switch to it:

git checkout -b <new-branch-name>

git commit

git commit is used to save your changes to the local repository. This command requires a message to associate with the commit, which should be a brief description of the changes made.

git commit -m "Your commit message"

Remember, this doesn’t affect the remote repository until you push the changes.

git push

git push is used to send local commits to the remote repository.

git push origin main

This command pushes changes from your local “main” branch to the remote “origin” repository.

git pull

git pull is used to fetch and download content from a remote repository and immediately update the local repository to match that content.

git pull origin main

This command pulls changes from the remote “main” branch to your current local branch.

Example Using the Hello-World Repository

Here’s an example of how you can use these commands:

First, clone the Hello-World repository:

git clone https://github.com/octocat/Hello-World.git

Navigate to the new directory that was created:
```
cd Hello-World
```
Make some changes to the files. For example, you can add a new line to the README.md file.
Now, commit these changes:
```
git commit -m "Updated README.md"
```
After committing, push these changes to the remote repository:
```
git checkout -b main
git push origin main
```
If someone else has made changes to the same repository, you can pull these changes:
```
git pull origin main
```