Git Basics:

Why Git ?

Lets first start by quoting the first line on the Git’s Wikipedia page: “Git (/ɡɪt/) is a version-control system for tracking changes in computer files and coordinating work on those files among multiple people.”

So that means that basic and most important function of Git is to allow teams to add (and merge) code at the same time to the same project. By adding this ability to projects it makes teams more efficient and gives them abilities to work on bigger projects and more complex problems.
There are also many other things Git does really well: it allows us to revert changes, create new branches for adding new features, resolve merge conflict etc.

Git works like this: Git stores project in a repository. Commits are made to the project and they tell Git that you are satisfied with the new or changed code you created. New code/changes are committed on branches. Most of work is committed on other branches and then merged with master branch. All this is stored in the same directory as the project but in a sub-folder called .git. To share the code with your colleagues you push the changes to the repository, and to get the new code from you colleagues you pull changes from the repository.

What is GitHub?

Well, I am glad you asked! This kind of applications are called repository management services and they play a crucial role in the modern software development. Even though Git is the go-to version control solution for most companies just as well as GitHub, GitHub has some strong competitors such as GitLab and Bitbucket. However, if you know how to use GitHub, you won’t have any problem working with GitLab or Bitbucket.

Git is the tool, GitHub is the service for projects that use Git.

Where can I discover interesting projects and connect to other developers?

GitHub, GitLab and Bitbucket have public repository search options and the ability to easily follow other users.

Can you now see why is it important to know Git and Github (GitLab/Bitbucket)? Only thing left before writing the commands is to tell you few simple rules to always follow when using Git:

• Rule 1: Create a Git repository for every new project
• Rule 2: Create a new branch for every new feature

Commands

To get started with Git you must have it on your computer. If you don’t already have it you can go to https://git-scm.com/ and follow the instructions.

Initialize a new Git repository: Git init

Everything you code is tracked in the repository. To initialize a git repository, use this command while inside the project folder. This will create a .git folder.

git init

Git add

This command adds one or all changed files to the staging area.

To just add a specific file to staging:

git add filename.py

To stage new, modified or deleted files:

git add -A

To stage new and modified files:

git add .

To stage modified and deleted files:

git add -u

Git commit

This command records the file in the version history. The -m means that a commit message follows. This message is a custom one and you should use it to let your colleagues or yourself sometime in the future know what was added in that commit.

git commit -m "your text"

Git status

This command will list files in green or red colors. Green files have been added to the stage but not committed yet. Files marked as red are the ones not yet added to the stage.

git status

Working with branches

Git branch branch_name

This will create a new branch:

git branch branch_name

Git checkout branch_name

To switch from one branch to another:

git checkout branch_name

Git checkout -b branch_name

To create new branch and switch to it automatically:

git checkout -b branch_name

This is shot for:

git branch branch_name
git checkout branch_name

Git branch

To list all the branches and see on what branch you currently are:

git branch

Git log

This command will list the version history for the current branch:

git log

Push & Pull

Git push

This command sends the committed changes to remote repository:

git push

Git pull

To pull the changes from the remote server to your local computer:

git pull

Tips & Tricks

Trow away all you uncommitted changes

Just as it says, this command will trow away all your uncommitted changes:

git reset --hard

Remove a file from git without removing it from computer

Sometime using “git add” command you might end up adding files that you didn’t want to add.

If you are not careful during a “git add”, you may end up adding files that you didn’t want to commit. You should remove the staged version of the file, and then add the file to .gitignore to avoid making the same mistake a second time:

git reset file_name
echo filename >> .gitignore

Edit a commit message

It is very easy to fix a commit message

git commit --amend -m "New message"

Thank you for reading!