Git & GitHub Learning Repository

Welcome! 👋
This repository exists as a sandbox for learning Git and GitHub.
Nothing here is “production code” — the goal is to practice workflows, make mistakes, and understand how version control works.

If you’re new to Git or GitHub, you’re in the right place.

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What Is Git?

Git is a version control system.
It helps you:

• Track changes to files over time
• Go back to previous versions
• Work on multiple features at once
• Collaborate with other people without overwriting each other’s work

Think of Git as a time machine for your code.

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What Is GitHub?

GitHub is a website that hosts Git repositories.

Git:

• Runs on your computer
• Tracks file history locally

GitHub:

• Stores repositories online
• Makes collaboration easy
• Adds tools like pull requests, issues, and code reviews

👉 You can use Git without GitHub, but GitHub makes teamwork (and sharing) much easier.

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Basic Git Concepts

Repository (repo)

A repository is a folder tracked by Git.
It contains:

• Your files
• A hidden .git/ directory with all the history

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Commit

A commit is a snapshot of your files at a point in time.

• Each commit has a message describing what changed
• Commits form a history you can move backward and forward through

Good commit messages are small and descriptive.

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Branch

A branch is a parallel version of the code.

• main (or master) is usually the default branch
• Branches let you experiment without breaking main
• You can merge a branch back when it’s ready

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Remote

A remote is a copy of your repository stored somewhere else (like GitHub).

• origin is the default name for the GitHub remote
• You push commits to the remote
• You pull changes from the remote

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Common Git Commands

Check status

git status

shows

• which files have changed
• whats staged
• whats untracked

Commit changes

git commit -m "Describe what you changed"

Creates a snapshot of staged files.

View history

git log

Shows commit history.

Show whats changed since last commit

git diff

Create a branch

git branch new-branch
git checkout new-branch

Or in one step:

git checkout -b new-branch

Switch branches

git checkout branch-name

or

git switch branch-name

Push to GitHub

Formally the command is

git push origin branch-name

or mostly in shorthand

git push

Pull from GitHub

git pull

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Typical Workflow

1. Make changes to files

2. Check what changed:

git status

3. Stage changes:

git add .

4. Commit changes:

git commit -m "Short description of changes"

5. Push to GitHub:

git push

6. Repeat often — small commits are better than big ones.

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GitHub Vocabulary

Pull Requests (PRs)

A pull request is a request to merge one branch into another.

Used to:

• Review code

• Discuss changes

• Run automated checks

Even for solo work, PRs are a great habit.

Issues

Issues are used to:

• Track bugs

• Propose ideas

• Write TODOs

Think of them as a shared task list.

Forks

A fork is a copy of someone else’s repository under your account.

Used when:

• You don’t have write access

• You want to experiment freely

Making Mistakes Is Normal

Everyone HAS and WILL:

• Commits the wrong file

• Writes bad commit messages

• Breaks something

That’s how you learn Git. This repo is intentionally safe for experimentation.

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Goals of This Repository

Practice Git commands

Learn GitHub workflows

Understand commits, branches, and remotes

Get comfortable fixing mistakes

If you’re confused at any point — that means you’re learning 🙂

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Resources

https://git-scm.com/docs

https://docs.github.com

For help on the command line you can always type:

git help <command>