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Juliet Kiplimo
Juliet Kiplimo

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A NEWBIE'S GUIDE TO GIT(gitbash).

#git #github #gitlab #programming

Git

Are you a newbie on git like me?

Check out this article on how you can install and configure Git also known as gitbash and connect it to your GitHub account on a Windows operating system, using commands and prompts.

Definitions:

  • Github - This is a virtual control platform that allows you to create, store, manage, track, and share your code with other developers. It enables collaborations on projects.

  • Git/Gitbash - This is a command-line version control interface that allows you to communicate with your GitHub account using prompts and commands.

Fun fact about git:

Git uses the SHA-1 (and increasingly SHA-256) cryptographic hashing algorithm to identify every commit. This ensures that the code cannot be altered or corrupted without detection.

  • Commit - Is a permanent record of your code at a specific point in time. A code checkpoint that can be secured using cryptography.

Now that you know the tools, let's get started!

How to Install GitHub Locally:

Step 1:
Open your default browser and search github, click the first link, and sign up. OR follow this link to Github and sign up

Step 2:
Create a Profile on Github and sign up
Fill in all the necessary fields, e.g., profile picture, name, and Bio information.

Congratulations! You have successfully created a GitHub account.

How to Install Git / Gitbash :

Step 1:

Open your browser and search for Git. OR follow this Link Git Install

Step 2:

Select the Operating system you are installing git on, i.e., Windows/ Mac os / Linux, etc

Step 3:

Click the hyperlink "click here to download" (as shown below)

Git download

Step 4:

Once the program has finished downloading on your machine. Open and run the program.

Be sure to pick Visual Studio as your default code editor on git when going through the steps of installation

Follow each step carefully as instructed until you successfully finish installing it.

How to connect your Git to your Gitbash account using commands.

Follow the following steps

Step 1: Launch your git

Step 2: Use the commands listed below in the following order.

  • Command to check your git version

git --version

  • Command to configure your name and email

git config --global user.name "enter your name"
git config --global user.email "enter your email"

Please use the same name and email used to create your github account

  • Command to check that your configurations are successful

git config --list

  • Command to generate an SSH key ( This is your unique digital identity)

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "email"

  • Command to make an agent for your sshkey

eval "$(agent-ssh -s)"

  • Command to add the agent.

ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519

  • Command to print or publish the agent

cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

Now let's connect gitbash to github

  1. Follow the path provided by git to where your key is stored >> Open it using Visual Studio and copy it to your clipboard

  2. Open your github account >> Go to settings >> Got to SSH & GPG keys.

  3. Click add new SSH key >> Paste the key you had copied earlier in VS stduio.

Congratulations! you successfully connected your git and GitHub accounts

Command to verify connection

ssh -T git@github.com

You should get a confirmation like shown below:

Git

Now Let's learn a few more commands on git!

1. Version Control on git

Git is the most commonly used software for version control because of the following features:

  • It takes a snapshot of every commit in the entire project.

  • It provides an audit trail of all changes made to the code, who made the changes, what was changed in the code, and the date and time it was changed.

  • It can restore any version of the project because it keeps a permanent, unaltered record of every commit made in the entire project.

2. Push and Pull code on git.

Pushing and pulling are terms used to refer to the communication between your local machine and a remote server repository where code is stored (git in this case).

  • Pushing - is using a specific command or an inbuilt graphical interface tool, like in Visual Studio, to send your commits/code to a shared repository (like on GitHub) where other developers can see and interact with it. Can be referred to as upload

An example of a command to push code

git add
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  • Pulling - is using a specific command or inbuilt GUI tool to retrieve specific changes made from a remote repository and downloads and merges them into your code.

An example of a command to pull code

git pull --rebase
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3. Tracking code on git.

Tracking code on git is monitoring any unsaved modifications and the history of any permanent changes that have been made to the project.

Below are a few commands to track any changes in your work directory.

  • To check the project's current overall status

git status

  • To view exact code changes

git diff

  • To check the changes waiting to be committed (staged)

git diff --staged

  • To check full history or logs
    git log

  • For a condensed view of your history

git log --oneline

  • For history of a specific file

git log --[filename]

  • To show a detailed view of all your commits

git show --[commit-hash]

Thank you for reading my article to the end !!

I hope you find it informative and educational. Please comment and let me know what you think about my article!!

Adios, until the next one.

Signed
Jules.

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