Git & GitHub: Basics to Intermediate#

Almost every software team on Earth uses Git. It is the tool that lets ten people edit the same project at the same time without overwriting each other, and lets you go back to yesterday’s version when something breaks today.

This course takes you from “what is Git?” to “I can branch, merge, fix conflicts, collaborate through pull requests, and I know which team workflow to pick”. You learn by doing: every session has commands to type, the output you should see, a plain-language explanation, diagrams, and small tryouts with hidden answers.

Note

You do not need to know anything about Git. You need a computer, a terminal and curiosity. If you have never used a terminal, spend an hour on the Linux Basics course first (sessions 1 to 4 are enough). Mistakes are part of learning, and everything in the practice folder is disposable.

Tip

This course is the practical, hands-on companion to the Git & Version Control course, which tells the history of version control (BitKeeper, Mercurial, why Linus wrote Git). You do not need that one first.

What you will be able to do#

The Git journey Four parts: foundations, branching and merging, teamwork and power tools, and workflows for real projects. 1 Foundations init · add · commit log · diff · undo 2 Branching branch · switch merge · conflicts 3 Teamwork GitHub · push · pull PRs · rebase · stash 4 Workflows Git Flow · GitHub Flow trunk-based · rescue Beginner → confident Git user
Four parts: foundations, branching and merging, teamwork and power tools, and workflows for real projects.

After this course you can…

Sessions

Explain what Git is and why teams use it, install it and set it up

1

Create a repository, make commits and read the three areas (working folder, staging, repository)

2

Look back at history, compare versions and keep files out of Git

3

Undo almost any mistake: restore, amend, reset, revert, reflog

4

Create and switch branches and understand what HEAD is

5

Merge branches and resolve merge conflicts calmly

6

Connect to GitHub: clone, push, pull, fetch, SSH keys

7

Collaborate with pull requests, forks and code reviews

8

Use rebase, stash, cherry-pick and tags

9

Describe and compare six team workflows and choose one

10

Practise each workflow with commands, using only your own computer

11

Rescue a project: detached HEAD, wrong branch, leaked secret, bisect; plus good habits

12

How each session works#

  1. The big idea with an everyday comparison, so the concept makes sense before the commands appear.

  2. Try it: commands to type in your practice folder, with the real output shown.

  3. What just happened? Each command explained piece by piece, with diagrams.

  4. Common mistakes and what the error messages mean.

  5. Tryouts: three small jobs with answers hidden, so you try first.

  6. Recap of what you can now do.

Tip

Type every command yourself. Copy-paste teaches your clipboard, not your fingers. And whenever you are unsure what state you are in, run git status. It is the most useful command in Git, and it is always safe.

Before you begin#

Do the Setup first (20 minutes): install Git, introduce yourself to it, and create the ~/git-lab practice folder. Keep the Cheatsheet open in a tab.

Start here

Part 1 · Foundations

Part 2 · Branching and merging

Part 3 · Teamwork and power tools

Part 4 · Workflows and real life