Installing Git & Setting Up Your GitHub Account

Here’s a guide to installing Git and setting up your GitHub account:

i. For Linux using Package Manager:

• Open Terminal.
• For Debian-based distributions (e.g., Ubuntu):

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install git -y

• For Red Hat-based distributions (e.g., Fedora):

sudo dnf update
sudo dnf install git -y

ii. Verifying Git Installation:

• Open Terminal and type the following command and press Enter:

git --version

• We should see the installed version of Git displayed.

iii. Configuring Git for the first time:

• Setting up Git with our identity:

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

iv. Verifying the configuration:

git config --list

V. Setting Up Your GitHub Account

i. Visit GitHub:

• Go to GitHub website.

ii. Sign Up:

• Click on the Sign up button located at the top right corner of the page.

iii. Create Account:

• Enter your email address, create a password, and choose a username.
• Verify your email address by clicking the link sent to your email.

iv. Personalize Account:

• Optionally, fill out additional information like whether you want to receive updates from GitHub, and set your preferences.

v. Finish Setup:

• Complete the CAPTCHA to verify you're not a robot.
• Click on Create account.

vi. Choose a Plan:

• Select the free plan unless you need the features of a paid plan.

vii. Setup:

• Follow the on-screen instructions to set up your profile and preferences.

VI. Create Your First GitHub Repository

i. Create GitHub Repository:

• Log in to GitHub
• Click on the + icon in the top right corner / select Create Repository.
• Fill in the repository details (name, description, visibility, README) and click Create repository.

ii. Clone the Repository to Your Local Machine:

• Open Command Prompt or Terminal.
• Clone the repository using:

git clone https://github.com/your-username/my-first-repo.git

• Navigate to the repository directory:

cd my-first-repo

iii. Create and Add a New File:

• Create a new file in the repository directory:

echo "Hello, World!" > hello_world.txt

• Add the file to the staging area:

git add hello_world.txt

iv. Commit Your Changes:

• Commit the changes with a descriptive message:

git commit -m "Add hello_world.txt"

v. Push Your Changes to GitHub:

• Push the committed changes to your GitHub repository:

git push origin main

Git - GitHub: How it works

Key Concepts:

Working Directory: The local directory where you make changes to your files.
Staging Area: An intermediate area where you prepare changes before committing them.
Local Repository: The versioned history of your project stored on your local machine.
Remote Repository: A versioned history of your project stored on a server, accessible over the internet.

Git Commands

git add: Adds changes from the working directory to the staging area.
git commit: Records the staged changes in the local repository with a descriptive message.
git push: Sends committed changes from your local repository to a remote repository.
git fetch: Retrieves updates from the remote repository without merging them into your local branch.
git merge: Combines changes from different branches into your current branch.
git pull: Fetches updates from the remote repository and merges them into your local branch.
git clone: Creates a local copy of an existing remote repository.
git checkout: Switches to a different branch or restores files to a previous state.


Additional resources and references for further learning.
Git Documentation Here
GitHub Documentation Here