A Git Crash Course

This is my first ever blog! I thought it would be fitting to have a simple Git walkthrough as a tribute to fresh starts 🎉.

Taken from Project Smart Bike Lights’s GitHub repository

This project is opinioned on using command line for our operations. Instructions will be in the command line.

Instructions are adapted from this excellent tutorial.

1. Clone this repository

$ git clone https://github.com/fixthelights/smart-bike-lights.git

Copy everything after the $symbol. $ is a prompt symbol to denote the terminal input. If you see a # symbol, that denotes the superuser’s prompt (admin prompt) More information here.

Change directory cd into the repository.

$ cd smart-bike-lights

2. Making changes to files

For example, lets create a hello-world.py file

$ touch hello-world.py

Check git status to see the changes

$ git status

On branch main
Untracked files:
  (use "git add <file>..." to include in what will be committed)
	hello-world.py

nothing added to commit but untracked files present (use "git add" to track)

3. Adding changes to staging

Staging is a concept in git that represents an intermediate area where changes are added in preparation for a commit

$ git add .

Don’t forget the dot . which denotes current directory

Run git status to ensure they’re staged

$ git status

On branch main
Changes to be committed:
  (use "git restore --staged <file>..." to unstage)
	new file:   hello-world.py

4. Finally commit the changes

$ git commit -m 'Added hello-world.py'

the -m flag adds a commit message which will show up on github. It should be short and clear, a summary of the commit

Output:

[main 153f6eb] Added hello-world.py
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+)
 create mode 100644 hello-world.py

5. Push to the cloud (Github)

$ git push

This step uploads your commit to Github. Don’t forget this step!

Without uploading, your commit stays on your device only, and others won’t be able to see your work.