A Minimal, Instant Quick-start Guide To Github (For Beginners) 🐼

For the first timers to Git and Github, presenting the minimal, single line quick-start guide to help understand basic concepts relatable to everyday terminology. Hope this helps you get started as fast as lightning, you lazy panda!

Git was created by Linus Torvalds in 2005, the same wizard who created Linux.

Concepts

To keep things simple, we shall discuss about Github, the website and not Git the software, although the same rules apply for the software as well.

• git : version control + collaboration software, not a website.
• github : website operating with git as its backbone.
• repo : short for repository, is basically a Project.
• (remote/local) repo : repo residing in Github cloud / local PC.
• clone : copy existing repo from the cloud to local PC. first time use.
• master : the default main branch(folder).
• branch : create-able folder with the same files in master, to experiment without affecting the master(stable) folder.
  virtually unlimited branches (& branches of branches) can be created
• merge : when the experiment ☝️ is concluded, it can be merged with master.
• commit : the save button ! goes to local master.
• pull : download the updated (by collaborator) repo files from the cloud. Only required when file mismatch between local and cloud repo (containing updated files).
• push : once edited, then committed, now upload the local changes into the cloud repo.
• fork : copy/duplicate anyone’s entire repo under your username and continue on your own path. similar to branching, yet different.
• pull request : for forked repos ; since you can’t push changes to others’ repo, you politely ask them to pull your updated file (commit).
• origin : alias for the primary version of a repo.

Points

👾 You can edit files in the branch as well as the master and yet merge them. Both the edits will be retained in your master after merge, unless its complicated, in which case Github won’t let you merge the two (master+branch).

👾 Before Committing, update your Local Master from Remote Master by taking a Pull from Remote Master

Github is a subsidiary of Microsoft, which acquired the company in 2018

👀 Looking for some more, simple, easy to understand information ? Use the Videos below. I found them lucid and intuitive! 👇

Learn to Git: Basic Concepts (by DevForge Network)

Git and GitHub for Poets Youtube Playlist by The Coding Train

Please feel free to comment with anything that I may have missed or erred, and I will update it in the concepts/points section. Thanks :)