Skip to content

03-git-setup.md

Latest commit

 

History

History
280 lines (202 loc) · 5.83 KB

03-git-setup.md

File metadata and controls

280 lines (202 loc) · 5.83 KB

Part 3: Setting Up Git

Time to get Git installed and configured on your computer! Don't worry—this is easier than it looks.

Installing Git 💻

Windows 🪟

Option 1: Official Git for Windows

  1. Go to git-scm.com
  2. Click "Download for Windows"
  3. Run the installer with default settings
  4. This includes Git Bash (a terminal for Git commands)

Option 2: GitHub Desktop (Beginner-Friendly)

  1. Go to desktop.github.com
  2. Download and install
  3. Includes Git automatically + nice visual interface

Mac 🍎

Option 1: Homebrew (Recommended)

# Install Homebrew first if you don't have it
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

# Install Git
brew install git

Option 2: Xcode Command Line Tools

xcode-select --install

Option 3: Official Installer

  1. Go to git-scm.com
  2. Download Mac version
  3. Install normally

Linux 🐧

Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install git

CentOS/RHEL/Fedora:

# CentOS/RHEL
sudo yum install git

# Fedora
sudo dnf install git

Verify Installation ✅

Open your terminal/command prompt and type:

git --version

You should see something like:

git version 2.40.0

If you see this, congratulations! Git is installed! 🎉

Initial Configuration ⚙️

Git needs to know who you are before you can make commits. Let's set that up:

Set Your Name and Email

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

Important: Use the same email address you'll use for GitHub!

Example:

git config --global user.name "Alex Smith"
git config --global user.email "alex.smith@email.com"

Set Your Default Branch Name

Modern Git uses main instead of master:

git config --global init.defaultBranch main

Set Your Text Editor (Optional)

Git sometimes opens a text editor. Set your preference:

# Visual Studio Code
git config --global core.editor "code --wait"

# Nano (simple, built-in)
git config --global core.editor "nano"

# Vim
git config --global core.editor "vim"

Verify Your Configuration 🔍

Check that everything is set up correctly:

git config --list --global

You should see:

user.name=Your Full Name
user.email=your.email@example.com
init.defaultbranch=main
core.editor=code --wait

Or check individual settings:

git config user.name
git config user.email

SSH Keys (For GitHub) 🔑

SSH keys let you connect to GitHub securely without typing your password every time.

Generate SSH Key

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "your.email@example.com"

When prompted:

  • File location: Press Enter (use default)
  • Passphrase: Optional, but recommended for security

Start SSH Agent

Windows (Git Bash):

eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"
ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519

Mac/Linux:

eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"
ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519

Copy Your Public Key

Windows:

clip < ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

Mac:

pbcopy < ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

Linux:

cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub
# Then copy the output manually

Add Key to GitHub

  1. Go to GitHub.com
  2. Click your profile picture → Settings
  3. Click SSH and GPG keys
  4. Click New SSH key
  5. Paste your key and give it a title
  6. Click Add SSH key

Test SSH Connection

ssh -T git@github.com

You should see:

Hi username! You've successfully authenticated, but GitHub does not provide shell access.

Useful Git Aliases 🎯

Make Git commands shorter and easier:

git config --global alias.st status
git config --global alias.co checkout
git config --global alias.br branch
git config --global alias.ci commit
git config --global alias.unstage 'reset HEAD --'
git config --global alias.last 'log -1 HEAD'
git config --global alias.visual '!gitk'

Now you can type git st instead of git status!

Command Line Tips 💡

Windows Users

  • Use Git Bash for Git commands (comes with Git for Windows)
  • It provides a Linux-like terminal experience

All Users

  • Learn these terminal basics:
    • pwd - show current directory
    • ls (Mac/Linux) or dir (Windows) - list files
    • cd folder_name - change directory
    • cd .. - go up one directory
    • mkdir folder_name - create directory

Troubleshooting 🔧

"git: command not found"

  • Git isn't installed or not in your PATH
  • Restart your terminal after installation
  • On Windows, use Git Bash

"Permission denied (publickey)"

  • SSH key isn't set up correctly
  • Make sure you added the public key to GitHub
  • Check that ssh-agent is running

"fatal: unable to access..."

  • Network/firewall issues
  • Try HTTPS instead of SSH initially

Text Editors for Git 📝

You'll need a text editor for commit messages and file editing:

Beginner-Friendly:

  • Visual Studio Code: Free, powerful, great Git integration
  • Sublime Text: Fast and simple
  • Atom: GitHub's editor (discontinued but still works)

Terminal-Based:

  • Nano: Simple, built into most systems
  • Vim: Powerful but steep learning curve
  • Emacs: Feature-rich, complex

What's Next? ➡️

Great! Git is now installed and configured. Time to create your first repository!

Continue to Part 4: Your First Repository

Checklist ✅

Before moving on, make sure you can:

  • Run git --version and see a version number
  • Run git config user.name and see your name
  • Run git config user.email and see your email
  • (Optional) Connect to GitHub via SSH

Previous: Part 2: Why Use Git? | Next: Part 4: Your First Repository