Setting up Git and GitHub

Git and GitHub

Throughout this course, we will be using software called git to backup our code and manage changes to it. We will also be using a website called GitHub to access our code through the cloud. To begin using Git and GitHub, we need to 1) set up a GitHub account, and 2) configure Git on our machines.

Setting Up GitHub Account

Open Chrome and navigate to https://github.com/join. Create a unique username, use your Petra email address, and use a strong, unique password. Verify your account and click “Create Account”.

Configuring Git

Git has already been installed on your machine, so you don’t need to install it. We do need to configure it correctly, though.

Open the Terminal app and click “Penguin” to open the Linux command line. We need to configure two settings for Git to connect to the GitHub account we just created.

Enter these commands into your Terminal, replacing your name and email address you used setting up your GitHub account.

$ git config --global user.name "John Doe"
$ git config --global user.email johndoe@example.com

Cloning Your Git Repository

  1. Open Visual Studio Code.
  2. Click the Extensions option on the left-hand menu. Type “GitHub Pull Requests and Issues” in the search box. Click “Install” by the correct extension.
  3. When the extension has installed, click on the GitHub logo (the cat silhouette).
  4. Navigate to your code repository on GitHub and copy the URL for the repository.
  5. Press SHIFT+CTRL+P to open the Command Palette. Enter “Git: Clone” and press “Enter”.
  6. Paste the link to the repository in the Command Palette.
  7. In the box that appears, click the “Add Folder” button on the upper right-hand corner. Name the folder “[firstname]_code_local”. Then click “Select Repository Location”.
  8. When asked to “Choose password for new keyring”, enter your GitHub password and confirm.
  9. Wait for the repository to clone to your Chromebook. When asked if you’d like to open the cloned repository, click “Open”.

Your First Git Commit

  1. Open the Files navigator and move your Project 1 file to your new repository folder. The file will appear in VS Code.
  2. Click the Source Control icon in the left-hand menu. In the Message box, enter “Added Project 1 file” and click “Commit”. Click “Yes” in the prompt that appears.
  3. Open Command Palette and type “Git:Sync” and hit “Enter”. This syncs your local repository with the GitHub repository–which means you have saved all your code to the cloud.
  4. Open GitHub and refresh the page to see your Project 1 file and the commit message.