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Introduction

Git Basics

Mar 25, 2026

What You'll Learn

  • What Git is and why every developer uses it
  • The difference between Git and GitHub
  • How to set up Git and connect it to GitHub
  • The core commands you'll use every day

What is Git?

Git is a version control system — it tracks every change you make to your code over time. Instead of saving files like project_v1.py, project_v2.py, project_final.py, Git records a full history of changes so you can:

  • Go back to any previous version
  • See exactly what changed and when
  • Work on new features without breaking existing code
  • Collaborate with teammates without overwriting each other's work

Git runs locally on your machine. Your code history lives in a hidden .git folder inside your project.

Git vs GitHub

These are two different things that work together:

GitGitHub
What it isA tool on your computerA website
What it doesTracks changes locallyHosts your code online
Works without the other?YesNo — needs Git

Git is the engine. GitHub is where you store and share your code remotely.

Setting Up Git

1. Install Git

Check if Git is already installed:

git --version
bash

If not, download it from git-scm.com.

2. Set your identity

Git attaches your name and email to every commit you make:

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

Do this once — it applies to all your projects.

3. Set rebase as the default pull strategy

git config --global pull.rebase true
bash

This prevents unnecessary merge commits when you pull from remote. See the PR article for why this matters.

Connecting to GitHub

1. Create a repository on GitHub

Go to GitHub → click New repository → give it a name → click Create repository .

2. Initialize Git in your project

cd your-project-folder
git init
git add .
git commit -m "first commit"
bash

3. Connect and push

Copy the remote URL from GitHub, then:

git remote add origin https://github.com/your-username/your-repo.git
git branch -M main
git push -u origin main
bash

Your code is now on GitHub. After this first push, you can just run git push to upload future commits.

The Core Workflow

Once set up, your daily Git workflow is three commands:

git add .                        # stage your changes
git commit -m "describe change"  # save a snapshot
git push                         # upload to GitHub
bash

To download the latest changes from GitHub:

git pull
bash

Key Questions

Q: What is the difference between Git and GitHub?

Git is a local version control tool — it tracks changes on your machine. GitHub is a cloud platform that hosts Git repositories so you can share code, collaborate with others, and back up your work remotely. You can use Git without GitHub, but GitHub requires Git.

Q: What does git init do?

It initializes a new Git repository in the current directory by creating a hidden .git folder. This folder stores the entire history of your project — commits, branches, configuration. Without it, Git has nothing to track.

Q: What is a remote?

A remote is a reference to a repository hosted somewhere else — typically GitHub. origin is the conventional name for the main remote. When you run git push origin main, you're pushing your local main branch to the origin remote.

Q: What does git add do?

git add moves changes into the staging area — a holding zone for changes you want to include in the next commit. It lets you be selective: you can stage some files and leave others unstaged, so each commit contains only related changes.