Installing Git Bash on Windows: A Beginner’s Guide

What You’ll Learn in This Part

• Introduction
• What Is Git Bash
• Jump to installation steps
• How to verify your installation

Introduction

GitHub and Git Bash are tools used to create, manage, and collaborate on digital projects—especially projects that involve code, data, or files that change over time. These tools are widely used by software developers, data analysts, data scientists, programmers, students and even non-programmers. Anyone who wants a reliable way to track their work, avoid losing progress, and collaborate with others can benefit from using Git Bash and GitHub.

What is Git Bash?

Git Bash is a tool you use on your computer to communicate with Git, the version control system that tracks changes in your files. It provides a simple terminal where you can:

• Navigate folders
• Create files
• Record changes using clear, text-based commands

GitHub, on the other hand, is an online platform where those recorded changes are stored, shared, and displayed. When you use Git Bash, you save your work locally as commits and then send them to GitHub, where your projects are safely stored online and can be accessed from anywhere.

In simple terms, Git Bash acts as the bridge between your computer and Git, while GitHub serves as the online home for your projects. Together, they help one track progress, collaborate confidently, and build a clear, visible history of their work.

Steps to download and set up Git Bash on Windows

1. Install Git on your PC. You can download it here.
2. Once Git Bash is downloaded, navigate to your Downloads folder on your PC (or click the download icon at the top of your browser, usually shown as a downward arrow). Locate and double-click the downloaded .exe file to run it. When you get a prompt saying, “Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your device?” Click Yes.
3. Use the default settings throughout the installation process. Click Next until you reach Install, then click Install. After the installation is complete, You may choose to Launch Git Bash, then click Finish.
4. After installing Git on Windows, if Git Bash does not launch automatically, press the Windows key on your keyboard, type Git Bash, and click Git Bash from the search results. You should see a terminal window with:

username@hostname MINGW64 /

How to verify your installation

In the Git Bash terminal, type:

git --version

If Git is installed correctly, you’ll see output similar to:

git version 2.x.x.windows.1

I hope this guide was helpful. Let me know in the comments how you set up your Git Bash to suit your needs. Next, we’ll see how we connect Git Bash to GitHub, so head over to Part 2 of the series.