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Abishek Haththakage
Abishek Haththakage

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A Quick Tutorial for GitKraken - A Comprehensive Guide for Beginners

The Git command line interface could intimidate a beginner to Git. But, GitKraken offers a user-friendly graphical user interface (GUI) that makes working with Git simpler. GitKraken is a robust Git client with many features and functionalities. We'll give you a brief lesson for GitKraken in this article to get you up and running with Git.

Getting Started with GitKraken for GitHub Users
GitKraken Client Tutorials and Tips
Intro to Git

Step 1: Install GitKraken

To use GitKraken, you'll first need to install it on your computer. You can download GitKraken from their website and install it on your Windows, Mac, or Linux system.

Download the #1 Git client in the world
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Step 2: Connect to your Git repository

Once you've installed GitKraken, open it up and connect to your Git repository by either cloning an existing repository or creating a new one. GitKraken makes it easy to connect to remote repositories hosted on GitHub, Bitbucket, GitLab, and other services.

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Step 3: Familiarize yourself with the interface

GitKraken's interface is divided into several sections. The main section is the graph view, which displays your repository's history graphically. On the left-hand side, you'll find the file tree, which shows the files and directories in your repository. The right-hand side displays information about the selected commit, branch, or file.

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Step 4: Create and switch branches

GitKraken makes it easy to create and switch between branches. You can create a new branch by right-clicking on the commit you want to branch from and selecting "Create branch here." To switch between branches, simply click on the branch name in the graph view.
How to Git Branch [ 3 min Beginner Git Tutorial ]

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Step 5: Commit changes

To commit changes, select the files you want to commit in the file tree, enter a commit message, and click the commit button. You can also stage and unstage files by clicking the plus or minus icons next to each file.
What is a Commit? [ 3 min Beginner Git Tutorial ]

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Step 6: Merge branches

To merge two branches, select the branch you want to merge into and click the merge button. GitKraken will display a list of the branches you can merge, and you can select the one you want to merge.

Step 7: Push and pull changes

To push changes to your remote repository, click the push button. To pull changes from the remote repository, click the pull button. GitKraken will automatically fetch the latest changes and merge them with your local repository.

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You can download a cute Git Basics Cheat Sheet through this link

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In summary, GitKraken is an effective Git client with an easy-to-use GUI that makes it simpler for novices to interact with Git. This brief GitKraken lesson covers the fundamentals, such as installation, connecting to a Git repository, using the interface, creating and switching between branches, committing changes, merging branches, pushing and pulling changes, as well as other topics. You may learn how to use GitKraken and Git successfully by following this lesson.

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Okay, that’s it for this article.
Also, if you have any questions about this or anything else, please feel free to let me know in a comment below or on Instagram , Facebook or Twitter.

Thank you for reading this article, and see you soon in the next one! ❀️

Top comments (2)

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ant_f_dev profile image
Anthony Fung • Edited

I tried GitKraken a few years ago. It's got a nice interface, but unfortunately it was quite slow on the repository I worked on (it was many years old with multiple daily commits). Things may have changed since then, as it was a long time ago. It was also good to use for smaller repositories.

I use Git Extensions, which is completely free. However, it's Windows only (for now?).

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Windya Madushani

I just wanted to say thank you for sharing your knowledge with us.