Git Basics — Learn Version Control From Scratch

Learn Git from scratch — what it is, how to set it up, and the everyday commands you'll use forever.

If you've ever ended up with folders like project-final-v2 and project-REALLY-final, this article is for you. Git replaces that chaos with one folder and a full history of every meaningful change.

What is Git?#

Git is a version control system. It saves snapshots of your project over time so you can:

• Go back to any previous version
• See who changed what and when
• Work on features without breaking the main code
• Collaborate without emailing zip files

Think of Git like save points in a game. Each commit is a save. You can reload an old save without losing the whole game.

Without Git:

project/
project-backup/
project-final/
project-final-v2/
project-REALLY-final/

With Git: one folder + a full history of every meaningful change.

Git vs GitHub#

Your laptop (Git)  ←→  GitHub (remote copy + collaboration tools)

You can use Git without GitHub. You cannot get GitHub's full value without Git.

Other hosts exist (GitLab, Bitbucket) — same Git commands, different websites.

Core Concepts#

Repository (repo)#

A project folder tracked by Git. Contains your files plus a hidden .git/ directory (the database of history).

The three areas#

Working Directory     Staging Area (Index)     Repository (.git)
─────────────────     ────────────────────     ─────────────────
Files you edit   →    Files marked "ready"  →  Saved commits
                      with git add             with git commit

Commit#

A snapshot with:

• Unique ID (hash), e.g. a1b2c3d
• Author, date, message
• Pointer to the previous commit (forms a chain)

(A) ← (B) ← (C) ← (D)   ← newest commit (usually where you are)

HEAD#

A pointer to "where you are now" — usually the tip of the current branch.

Install & First-Time Setup#

Install#

# macOS (Homebrew)
brew install git

# Ubuntu / Debian
sudo apt update
sudo apt install git

git --version

Tell Git who you are#

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

Use the same email as your GitHub account (or a GitHub noreply email) so commits link to your profile.

Useful defaults#

git config --global init.defaultBranch main
git config --global color.ui auto
git config --global pull.rebase false    # merge on pull (simple default)

See your config#

git config --list
git config --global --list

Create or Clone a Repository#

Start a new repo in an existing folder#

mkdir my-app && cd my-app
git init

Creates .git/ and starts tracking history from here.

Clone an existing repo (from GitHub)#

git clone https://github.com/user/repo.git
git clone git@github.com:user/repo.git        # SSH
cd repo

git clone — Downloads the project and its full Git history, then sets origin as the remote.

The Daily Workflow#

This is 90% of what you'll do every day:

git status                  # what's changed?
git add file.txt            # stage one file
git add .                   # stage everything (careful)
git commit -m "message"     # save a snapshot

Step by step#

1. git status — Shows modified, staged, and untracked files. Run this often.

2. git add — Moves changes into the staging area.

git add index.html
git add src/                # stage a folder
git add -p                  # stage hunks interactively (advanced but useful)

3. git commit — Saves the staged snapshot permanently in history.

git commit -m "Add login form validation"

First commit tip#

git add .
git commit -m "Initial commit"

Amend the last commit (only if not pushed yet, or you're sure)#

git add forgotten-file.txt
git commit --amend --no-edit     # keep same message
git commit --amend -m "New msg"  # change message

Rule: Don't amend commits that others already pulled — it rewrites history.

See What Changed#

git status — High-level: which files changed / staged.

git diff — Line-by-line changes not yet staged.

git diff

git diff --staged (or --cached) — Changes that are staged, ready to commit.

git diff --staged

git log — Commit history.

git log
git log --oneline              # short one line per commit
git log --oneline --graph      # ASCII branch graph
git log -5                     # last 5 commits
git log --author="Yasir"

git show — Details of one commit (message + diff).

git show
git show a1b2c3d

Undo Safe Basics#

These are the safe "oops" tools for beginners. Deeper recovery (reset, reflog, recovering lost commits) belongs in a follow-up on advanced Git.

Older docs may show:

git reset HEAD file.txt      # unstage (older style)
git checkout -- file.txt     # discard changes (older style)

Prefer git restore on modern Git.

Warning: git restore file.txt throws away uncommitted work in that file. There is no recycle bin.

Ignore Files (.gitignore)#

Some files should never be committed:

• Secrets (.env, keys)
• Dependencies (node_modules/, .venv/)
• Build output (dist/, build/)
• OS junk (.DS_Store)

Create .gitignore in the repo root:

# dependencies
node_modules/
.venv/

# env / secrets
.env
.env.local
*.pem

# build
dist/
build/
__pycache__/

# OS / editor
.DS_Store
.idea/
.vscode/

git check-ignore -v file — Explains why a file is ignored.

If you already committed a secret by mistake:

1. Rotate the secret (treat it as leaked)
2. Remove it from Git tracking
3. Add it to .gitignore

Good Commit Messages#

Bad:

fix
updates
asdf
final

Good:

Add rate limiting to login API
Fix nginx 502 when upstream is down
Remove unused docker-compose volume

Simple formula:

<verb in imperative> <what changed and why it matters>

Like an order: "Add…", "Fix…", "Update…", "Remove…"

Optional Conventional Commits style (nice for teams):

feat: add user invite endpoint
fix: correct CORS origin for staging
docs: explain reverse proxy headers
chore: bump node to 20 in Dockerfile

Quick Cheatsheet#

What's Next?#

You can now save snapshots alone. The next step is working on features safely with branches — creating them, switching between them, and merging without breaking main.

That branching workflow will be covered in a follow-up article.