By Michael Stromberg, Hack Reactor graduate (2016) · Last verified November 8, 2026

Git is the first professional tool every new developer has to learn, and it’s the one that trips up beginners most. This guide takes you from nothing installed to your first project on GitHub, then teaches the everyday workflow you’ll use in every bootcamp and every software job. Set aside about 30 minutes and follow along in your terminal.

Git vs. GitHub: what’s the difference?

• Git is a program on your computer that tracks every change to your code. It lets you save snapshots of your work, go back in time, and work on new features without breaking what already works.
• GitHub is a website that stores copies of your Git projects online. It’s where you back up your code, collaborate with other developers, and show employers what you’ve built.

You use Git to save your work. You use GitHub to share it.

GitHub isn’t the only option

GitHub is the most popular place to host Git repositories, but it’s not the only one. Every one of these runs on Git, so the commands in this guide work exactly the same. The only thing that changes is the address you push to.

This guide uses GitHub because it’s where most beginners start and where most employers will look for your work. Learn Git well and switching hosts takes minutes: your first job might use GitLab or Bitbucket, and you’ll feel at home on day one.

The 6 words you need to know

Step 1: Install Git

• Mac: open Terminal and run git --version. If Git isn’t installed, macOS offers to install Apple’s command line developer tools, which include it. Click Install. (If you use Homebrew, brew install git gets you the latest version.)
• Windows: download Git for Windows from git-scm.com and run the installer. The default options are fine. It also installs Git Bash, a terminal that understands the commands in this guide.
• Linux: use your package manager, for example sudo apt install git on Ubuntu.

Check that it worked:

git --version

You should see something like git version 2.x.x.

Step 2: Tell Git who you are

Every commit records an author. Set yours once, and use the same email as your GitHub account:

git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "you@example.com"
git config --global init.defaultBranch main

The last line names your starting branch main, which matches GitHub’s default.

Step 3: Create a GitHub account and connect it

Sign up for a free account at github.com. Pick a professional username; it will appear in the link you put on your résumé.

GitHub no longer accepts your account password when you push code from the terminal. The easiest way to connect your computer is the GitHub CLI:

• Mac: brew install gh
• Windows: winget install --id GitHub.cli

Then run:

gh auth login

Choose GitHub.com, then HTTPS, and say yes when it asks to authenticate Git with your GitHub credentials. It opens your browser to approve the connection. That’s it: from now on, git push just works.

Step 4: Make your first repository and commit

Create a project folder and turn it into a Git repository:

mkdir hello-git
cd hello-git
git init

Add a file, then ask Git what it sees:

echo "# Hello Git" > README.md
git status

git status lists README.md as an untracked file. Stage it, then commit it:

git add README.md
git commit -m "Add README"

You just saved your first snapshot. Run git log --oneline to see it.

Step 5: Put it on GitHub

With the GitHub CLI, one command creates the repo on GitHub and pushes your code:

gh repo create hello-git --public --source=. --push

Prefer the website? Create an empty repository on github.com (don’t add a README there), then connect and push:

git remote add origin https://github.com/YOUR-USERNAME/hello-git.git
git push -u origin main

Refresh the page on GitHub and your README is there. The -u flag tells Git to remember where to push, so next time you can just type git push.

Step 6: The everyday workflow

Ninety percent of your Git life is this loop:

git pull                      # get the latest changes
# ...edit your code...
git status                    # see what changed
git add .                     # stage everything
git commit -m "Describe what you changed"
git push                      # send it to GitHub

Commit small and often. A good commit message finishes the sentence “This commit will…”: Add login form, Fix total on cart page. Ten small commits are far easier to understand and undo than one giant one.

Step 7: Branches and pull requests

On a team, nobody commits straight to main. You build each feature on its own branch, then ask teammates to review it in a pull request before it’s merged.

git switch -c add-about-page   # create a branch and move to it
# ...edit and commit as usual...
git push -u origin add-about-page

GitHub then shows a Compare & pull request button. Open the pull request, describe what you changed, and merge it once it’s reviewed. Back in your terminal, update your copy of main:

git switch main
git pull

Use this workflow even on solo projects. Employers who look at your GitHub notice clean branches and pull requests, and it’s exactly how bootcamp team projects and real jobs work.

Keep secrets and junk out of Git

Create a file named .gitignore in your project to tell Git which files to never track:

node_modules/
.env
.DS_Store

Never commit passwords or API keys. Anything you push to a public repo is visible to everyone, and bots scan GitHub for leaked keys within minutes. Put secrets in a .env file and list it in .gitignore. If you do push a key by accident, revoke it immediately: deleting the commit isn’t enough.

Common beginner mistakes, and how to fix them

Git cheat sheet

Should you let AI handle Git for you?

AI coding tools like GitHub Copilot, Cursor, and Claude Code can write commit messages and even run Git commands for you. They’re genuinely useful for explaining a confusing error message. But learn the commands yourself first. When something goes wrong, and it will, you need to understand what state your repository is in, and technical interviews still expect you to talk through a branching workflow.

What to learn next

• Practice by cloning one of our JavaScript tutorials‘ examples into a repo and committing your own solutions.
• Read 10 things you should do daily to land a job after a coding bootcamp, where an active GitHub plays a big part.
• Thinking about a bootcamp? Every program will expect you to use Git from week one. Start with our bootcamp guides.

Git and GitHub FAQ

Do I have to use GitHub?

No. GitLab, Bitbucket, Azure Repos, and Codeberg all host Git repositories, and Git works the same way with each. GitHub is the best default for beginners because it’s where most portfolios and open-source projects live.

Is GitHub free?

Yes. A free GitHub account includes unlimited public and private repositories. Git itself is free and open source.

Do I have to use the command line?

No. GitHub Desktop and the Git panel in VS Code let you commit, push, and pull with buttons. But learn the commands too: every tutorial, bootcamp, and job assumes you know them, and the visual tools are much easier once you understand what they’re doing.

What’s the difference between git fetch and git pull?

git fetch downloads new commits from GitHub but doesn’t change your files. git pull fetches and then merges those commits into your current branch. Beginners can use git pull almost all the time.

Should my branch be called main or master?

Use main. It’s GitHub’s default for new repositories. You’ll still see master in older projects; it works the same way.

How long does it take to learn Git?

You can learn the daily workflow in an afternoon. Getting comfortable with branches, pull requests, and fixing conflicts takes a few weeks of regular use on real projects.