Very Beginner Level Version Controlling With Git

Basic commands

• init repository : git init
• add a file : git add filename
• add all files : git add .
• commit : git commit -m "commit message"
• check status which files you have added/deleted/modified : git status
• push code : git push origin branch_name

Full Examples

Create a new repository

• Create a repository : Create an empty repository in github

Then open git bash/terminal in your local pc

• init project : git init (initializing our repository)

For example, let's add something into our repo. Let's add a file named README.md. You can create a file using your GUI(Graphical User Interface). In FileManager, right click on mouse and file or folder creation options will be popped up. Or you can use your shell/bash terminal to create the file.

As i'm a linux user and taking flex in front of you, I will create the file using my oh-my-zsh(a bash terminal).

• create a file in bash : touch README.md (this will create a empty file named README.md in the directory you are in now, you can check current directory using pwd in terminal). You can add some content in it.

Now we have created a file and we want to add it into our repository. It does exist in our local pc not in github server yet[check if you don't believe me :)].
To upload it we need to follow some stuffs -> ['add','commit','push'].Let's do it.

• Add the file in git : git add README.md.

If you are curious enough and lazy :D then you must be thinking of 'adding 100 files/folder will fuck our hand and mind!'. Actually we can add all files or files with same extension or file starting or ending with same substring and so on!

• Add all files in the current dir : git add . (a dot can save your life :3)
• Commit changes : git commit -m "short but meaningful commit message" -m "description can be added but its optional"

According to my previous statement, we need to push the commit but there is a small thing we need to do as we want to connect our local repo with e github server repository we have created at first. So we need to make a link/connection for the first time. Before that we will change/move/rename the branch name. If your are in a terminal you may be notice that the default branch is master now.

In the screenshot you can see some colorful text.Forgot about the first text (base) its a different stuff to describe (not related to git). After (base) next things are username@pc_name>working_directory>git_branch_name accordingly.
We here my branch name is master

We will change the default branch name to main according to github's preference.

• rename branch : git branch -M main

Let me describe what we have done here. We just have changed the branch name from master to main. We could have used git branch -m main but there is a little differences between -m and -M. Actually -m define the changing but there can be a scenario where the branch name main already exist where we had to force git to change branch name. -f or --force is used to do something forcefully. -M is actually a short form of -m -f here. We will learn a lot about branch command later.

Now we need to link our local repo with github server somehow !

• git remote add origin https://github.com/your_username/github_repository_name

by this command we are creating a origin / we are adding a location of our remote repository where we will push our file or pull files from.

• push code to github : git push origin main (as our branch name is main)

Working on a repository

Scenario is we have a repository and we want to contribute in that open source project.

Link of the repository : git-101

• First of all we need to clone the repository : git clone https://github.com/jspw/git-101.git (this will create a folder named git-101 and copy the repository)

If we wish to copy the repo into a folder as our wish, then we can just add the folder name at the end of the command like this git clone repo_url dir_name

Now we have cloned the repo and we can add changes as our wish (not exactly your wish though :3).

Lets assume we have added a file named contributor.md and other files as well. Now we need to add the files or directories.

• add all files : git add .
• commit changes : git commit -m 'add contributor file'
• push code : git push origin main (this is a very beginner level tutorial, actually we never push code into main directly, we will lean this things later)

Note : I will write intermediate level git commands and uses later.
Follow git-101 to get update.