Git and GitHub Version Control

A curated overview of Git and GitHub installation, the workflow and usage in industry.

Transcript

1. Version Control with
2. What to Expect? Introduction to Version Control Git vs GitHub Git Installation Configuration of Git Identity Setting Up a GitHub Account Connecting Git to GitHub (The Simple Authentication) Testing the Connection Committing Changes to GitHub
3. What is Version Control? At its core, 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.  If you’ve ever saved a document as project_v1.docx, project_v2.docx, and project_final_v3_REAL.docx, you were attempting version control manually.  A formal version control system automates this process cleanly, safely, and at a massive scale. To understand how it works in the modern software world, you have to look at two distinct but deeply connected tools: Git and GitHub.
5. Git — The Local Engine Git is an open-source version control system software that runs locally on your computer’s operating system(whether you are on Linux, macOS, or Windows). • What it does: It tracks the history of your code files. It takes snapshots (called commits) of your project whenever you tell it to. • The Benefit: If you write bad code that completely breaks your application at 2AM, Git allows you to instantly time-travel back to probably 10PM when the code was working perfectly, without losing your progress or having to rewrite everything.
7. GitHub — The Cloud Platform GitHub is a cloud-based hosting service for Git repositories. It is a company and a web platform, not a piece of software installed on your machine. • What is does: It acts as a remote storage hub (a repo) where you can upload copies of your local Git projects. • The Benefit: It provides a graphical interface, project management boards, and collaboration features. It allows multiple developers from anywhere in the world to download the same code, work on different features simultaneously, and merge their work back together cleanly.
8. Git vs. GitHub: Two Tools, One System
9. Key Advantages of Git and GitHub Version Control  Branching (Risk-Free Experimentation): You can create a copy of your main codebase (a branch), experiment with a chaotic new feature, and if it fails, simply delete it. Your main production code remains completely untouched and safe.  Seamless Collaboration: Instead of emailing zip files of code back and forth, developers use GitHub to propose changes via Pull Requests. The team can review the lines of code changed, comment on specific lines, and safely merge them into the main project.  The Ultimate Backup: If your laptop suddenly crashes, gets corrupted, or gets lost, your entire development history, branches, and code are completely safe in the GitHub cloud. You can pull it down to a new machine in seconds.
11. Before Installing Git: Know Your PC System Architecture Type Which One Do You Have? On Windows: Settings → System → About → check "System type." • x64-based processor → Download Git for x64 • ARM-based processor → Download Git for ARM64 Latest version: 2.54.0 — matching your CPU architecture ensures native speed and minimal battery drain.
34. Configure Your Git Identity • Before you start tracking code, Git needs to know who you are so your work is credited correctly. • Open your terminal (GitBash on Windows) and run these two commands (replace with your actual info): NB: Use the same email address you plan to use for GitHub!) git config --global user.name "Your Name" git config --global user.email "your.email@example.com" Consistency Same identity across all projects — no anonymous commits. Efficiency Configure once per machine. Never repeat for new repos. Flexibility Override globally with --local for specific projects.
35. Git's Three Configuration Layers System Level Machine-wide settings for all users Global Level User-wide settings set with --global Local Level Project-specific settings in .git/config Git reads settings from the bottom (most specific) upward. The --global flag stores your identity in your home directory — so you never re-enter your name and email for every new project.
43. SSH & GPG: Your Security Toolkit SSH — Your Passport Creates an encrypted tunnel to GitHub. Link an SSH key once and push code without typing a password every time. GPG — Your Wax Seal Signs individual commits to prove you wrote them. On GitHub, signed commits earn a green "Verified" badge — preventing impersonation. SSH = identity to the server. GPG = proof of authorship on the code itself.
44. SSH Setup: 5 Steps to Connect 01 Generate Key Pair ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "your.email@example.com" — accept all defaults. 02 Copy Public Key cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub — copy the full output starting with ssh-ed25519. 03 Add to GitHub Settings → SSH and GPG keys → New SSH key → paste and save. 04 Test Connection ssh -T git@github.com — type yes if prompted; expect a success greeting. 05 Enable Auto-Translation git config --global url."git@github.com:".insteadOf "https://github.com/" What are we trying to achieve; Using Git Bash directly with an SSH Key secure handshake, combined with the automatic HTTPS-to-SSH translation rule so you can freely copy standard links from your browser.
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61. The Simple 4-Step Workflow Push (Cloud Save) Local Save Staging Area Initialization After pushing, refresh your GitHub page to see the added files. git add . Stage all changes — like putting items in a shipping box. git commit -m "message" Seal the snapshot locally with a descriptive label. git push Ship it to GitHub. Run git status first to check where you left off. • Once your initial setup is done, your daily routine for saving and uploading changes to GitHub comes down to a simple 4-step workflow. • As a developer, you will see this loop hundreds of times.
62. Launch Git Bash via the IDE Terminal and make sure you are inside the project folder, then run these commands in order;
63. Essential Git Commands Reference Setup • git init — new repo • git clone <url> — download repo • git config --global — set identity Daily Cycle • git status — check state • git add . — stage all • git commit -m "" — save locally Sync & Branch • git push / pull — sync cloud • git switch -c <name> — new branch • git merge <branch> — combine work Undo & Utility • git log --oneline — history • git reset --soft HEAD~1 — undo commit • git stash — temp save
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