Git and GitHub preparations

To get started with Git and catch up with the basics, you need to install and configure Git, set up a GitHub account and set up a text editor to use with Git.

This overview shows you how to:

• Set up a GitHub account
• Set up SSH keys
• Install Git
• Configure Git
• Set up a text editor

Setting up a GitHub account

You will need an account at GitHub for parts of the CodeRefinery Git lessons. Basic GitHub accounts are free. We recommend you to create a GitHub account if you don’t have one already. Please consider what personal information you’d like to reveal. For example, you may want to review these instructions for keeping your email address private provided at GitHub. Instructions for removing GitHub accounts can be found here.

Setting up SSH keys

Using the SSH protocol, you can connect and authenticate to remote servers and services. With SSH keys, you can connect to GitHub without supplying your username or password at each visit.

Follow this guide to connect to GitHub with SSH keys.

Installing Git

To get started with Git, you need to make sure that Git is installed on your laptop and that you have configured it correctly. Instructions for different operating systems are given below.
Please follow the instructions but do not forget to also configure Git.

Installation on Linux

If Git is not already available on your machine you can try to install it via your distribution package manager. Step-by-step instructions are provided in the installation instructions.

Please also verify your installation, according to these instructions.

Installation on macOS

The installation of Git on macOS will depend on the version of your OS. An installation guide can be found in the installation instructions.

Please also verify your installation, according to these instructions.

Installation on Windows

Git should be installed on your computer as part of the Bash installation, which is described in detail in these installation instructions.

Please also verify your installation, according to these instructions.

Configuring Git

After signing up for a GitHub account and installing Git on your machine, you should go through the following steps to configure Git. First, the following commands will set your user name and email address:

$ git config --global user.name "Your Name"
$ git config --global user.email yourname@example.com

This is important since your Git commits use this information. The --global option ensures that you do not need to enter this information again on your machine.

It is convenient to set also the default text editor to use with Git (see below for more information on editors). You can replace nano with vim, emacs or any other editor of your choice:

$ git config --global core.editor nano

To see where this information is stored, use:

$ git config --list --show-origin

Configuration problems

If you experience any configuration problems, please follow the Software Carpentry troubleshooting guide. If that still doesn’t solve your problem, please write to support@coderefinery.org

Text editor

Choosing the right text editor is a matter of taste and preferences. Since we often spend significant portions of our days editing text and source code, it can be valuable to invest time into learning your favourite editor really well. A few common options along with some pros/cons are given in these instructions.