Git is a free and open source distributed version control system designed to handle everything from small to very large projects with speed and efficiency.
Version control is a system that records changes to a file or set of files over time so that you can recall specific versions later. For example, when you are developing a piece of software, you might want to save different versions of your code as you work. Version control systems allow you to do this.
There are many reasons to use Git for version control. Git is fast, scalable, and has a large community of users. Git is also easy to learn and has excellent documentation.
Git is a command-line tool, but there are many graphical user interfaces (GUIs) that provide a graphical representation of the Git workflow. We will use the command line in this tutorial, but feel free to use a GUI if you prefer.
Git is available for all major operating systems. Visit the Git website to download and install Git.
Before you can use Git, you need to configure it. Run the following command to set your username:
git config --global user.name "Your Name"
Replace "Your Name" with your actual name.
Next, set your email address:
git config --global user.email "your_email@example.com"
Replace "your_email@example.com" with your actual email address.
Finally, set your default text editor:
git config --global core.editor nano
You can replace "nano" with your preferred text editor.
A Git repository is a collection of files and the history of changes to those files. You can create a new Git repository with the git init
command.
If you want to work with an existing Git repository, you can clone it with the git clone
command. Cloning a repository creates a local copy of the remote repository.
Now that you have a Git repository, you can start working with it.
You can add files to the Git repository with the git add
command. This command adds a file to the staging area, which is a temporary holding area for changes.
Once you have added all the files you want to commit, you can commit them to the repository with the git commit
command. This command saves your changes to the Git history.
You can view the commit history with the git log
command. This command displays a list of all the commits in the current branch, starting with the most recent commit.
You can check the status of files in the Git repository with the git status
command. This command displays a list of all the files that have been modified since the last commit.
You can view the differences between the current version of a file and the version in the Git repository with the git diff
command. This command is useful for seeing what changes you have made to a file before you commit them.
Git branches are used to create isolated environments for development. You can think of a branch as a separate line of development.
You can create a new branch with the git branch
command.
You can switch between branches with the git checkout
command.
You can merge two branches together with the git merge
command.
Git remote is used to manage remote repositories. A remote repository is a repository that is not on your local machine.
You can add a remote repository with the git remote add
command.
You can fetch changes from a remote repository with the git fetch
command.
You can push changes to a remote repository with the git push
command.
Git tags are used to mark specific points in the Git history. Tags are usually used to mark release points.
You can create a tag with the git tag
command.
You can push tags to a remote repository with the git push
command.
Git aliases are used to create shortcuts for Git commands.
You can create an alias with the git config
command. For example, to create an alias for the git status
command, you would run the following command:
git config --global alias.st status
You can now use the git st
command to run the git status
command.
Git hooks are scripts that run automatically when certain events occur in a Git repository. Git hooks are useful for automating tasks.
Git hooks are stored in the .git/hooks
directory.
Gitignore is used to ignore files that are not supposed to be tracked by Git. For example, you might want to ignore temporary files or log files.
You can create a .gitignore
file in the root directory of your Git repository. The .gitignore
file should contain a list of patterns to ignore.
Git flow is a set of conventions for managing branches in a Git repository. Git flow is designed to make it easy to work with branches.
GitLab is a web-based Git repository manager. GitLab provides a web interface for managing Git repositories. GitLab also provides features for issue tracking, continuous integration, and code review.
GitHub is a web-based Git repository hosting service. GitHub provides a web interface for managing Git repositories. GitHub also provides features for issue tracking, continuous integration, and code review.
Bitbucket is a web-based Git repository hosting service. Bitbucket provides a web interface for managing Git repositories. Bitbucket also provides features for issue tracking, continuous integration, and code review.