Getting Started with Git: Installing and Cloning Repositories from GitHub

This guide will help you get Git installed on your computer, clone your first repo from GitHub, and switch branches.

Whether you're brand new to Git or need a quick refresher, this guide will get you up and running in no time. It does assume you have at least some familiarity within a terminal or command-line environment. Linux & Linux-based OSs (Mac) make it easy; You just open up the Terminal app and away you go. With Windows it's slightly more challenging, although I've heard it's improved in recent years (but setting up a terminal environment on Windows is out of scope of this article).

Either way, crack your terminal open and let's get git-ing!

Git Newbie Glossary

Here are a few terms to keep on top of your mind as you read through this.

Step 1: Installing Git

If you already have Git installed on your computer, go ahead and skip to step 3 for cloning and branch information.

Windows

Download Git:

• Go to the Git for Windows download page.
• Click the "Download" button.

Install Git:

• Run the downloaded .exe file.
• Follow the installation wizard. Use the default options unless you have specific requirements.

macOS

Using Homebrew (recommended):

• Open the Terminal.
• Install Homebrew if you don't have it.
• Install Git with Homebrew:

  brew install git

Using the installer:

• Go to the Git for macOS download page.
• Download and install the latest version.

Linux

Debian/Ubuntu-based distributions:

• Open the Terminal.
• Update your package list and install Git:

  sudo apt update
  sudo apt install git

Fedora-based distributions:

• Open the Terminal.
• Install Git:

  sudo dnf install git

Step 2: Configuring Git

After installing Git, you'll need to configure your Github username and email. This is necessary for tracking changes and contributions.

1. Open your Terminal (or Git Bash on Windows).

2. Add your GitHub account username to your git config:

   git config --global user.name "username"

3. Add your GitHub account email to your git config:

   git config --global user.email "your.email@example.com"

Step 3: Cloning a Repository

To clone a repository, you'll need the repository URL. This can be found on the repository's GitHub page.

1. Copy the repository URL:

   • Navigate to the repository on GitHub.
   • Click the "Code" button and copy the URL (use HTTPS for simplicity).

2. Clone the repository:

   • Open your Terminal.
   • Navigate to the directory where you want to clone the repository:

     cd /path/to/your/directory

   • Clone the repository:

     git clone https://github.com/username/repository.git

   • Replace https://github.com/username/repository.git with the actual URL you copied from GitHub.
   • git clone creates a new directory, so with our example commands we would end up with /path/to/your/directory/repository/ with all the code inside the repository/ directory.
     • To stay organized, I'd recommend setting up some sort of folder structure like ~/code/<client_name>/<repos>/. So you would cd ~/code/<client_name> and then run git clone <repo_url> to end up with ~/code/<client_name>/<repo_name>.

Step 4: Switching Branches

Once you have cloned the repository, you'll need to know how to switch to different branches.

1. List available branches:

   • Navigate to the cloned repository:

     cd ~/code/<client_name>/<repo_name>

   • Fetch everything from the repository on Github:

     git fetch --all

   • List all the available branches:

     git branch -a

     • If you're switching to a branch for the first time, it will show up in this list prefaced with something like remotes/origin/. The <branch_name> in the next step is whatever is after the last /. i.e with remotes/origin/branch-xyz your <branch_name> is just branch-xyz

2. Switch to a branch:

   • Use the branch name from the list to switch branches:

     git switch <branch_name>

3. Pull the latest changes:

   • After switching to the desired branch, make sure to pull the latest changes to ensure you have the most up-to-date code:

     git pull

     • While git fetch and git pull seem like similar commands, they are quite different. Think of git fetch as getting the notification that there are changes, and git pull is getting the actual changes and applying them to your local copy of the repo. fetch is getting the email that your package has been delivered, pull is going to the mailbox to actually get the package.

By following these steps, you can switch to any branch and ensure you are always previewing the latest code from that branch.

In Conclusion

And that's it! You now have Git installed, can clone repositories from GitHub, and switch between branches. This will enable you to access and review code locally on your computer.

Happy Git-ing!

Git Commands Cheat Sheet