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What are the fastest, most practical resources to learn GitHub by actually using it? #204996
🏷️ Discussion TypeQuestion 💬 Feature/Topic AreaLearning Paths BodyI’ve been trying to learn GitHub, but honestly, most of the long YouTube tutorials I find are hard to stay focused on. I’d much rather learn by actually using GitHub instead of sitting through hours of someone explaining every little thing. I’m looking for short, practical, beginner-friendly resources where I can learn GitHub by doing things myself. I’d especially like to know:
Basically, I want a hands-on learning path that gets me comfortable with GitHub quickly, without spending days watching tutorials. |
Replies: 8 comments 6 replies
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Hey, I’d skip the long GitHub tutorials and just make a small throwaway repo and practice the actual workflow. Start with the basics: clone -> make a change -> git add -> git commit -> git push. Then create a branch, make another change, push it, and open a pull request back into main. After that, try creating an issue, linking it to a PR, resolving a merge conflict, and maybe forking another repo. If you can comfortably use commits, branches, pull requests, issues, forks, and basic merge conflict resolution, you already have most of what you’ll use day to day. |
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thx for advise ... |
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thx @antonisloukis it seems great advise, ik basics of the github as i watch videos but i wanna get a real experience of branch management , workflows and interacting a project flow through disscussion |
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I’d skip the long GitHub tutorials and learn by building a small “throwaway” repo. Start with the basic workflow:
Then practice:
Once that feels comfortable, add Issues, forks, and a simple merge conflict to the exercise. GitHub Skills is probably the best resource for this style of learning because the exercises happen inside real GitHub repositories rather than just being videos. I’d focus on these concepts first:
You can safely ignore things like rebasing, cherry-picking, Git internals, Actions, submodules, and other advanced features for now. After that, pick a small open-source project and look for The goal isn’t to “finish learning GitHub” — it’s to repeat the workflow until it becomes muscle memory. |
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Yeah… but the problem is, it’s honestly hard to find a good open-source project these days where you can properly learn contribution workflows, PRs, code reviews, and branch management by actually working on real issues. |
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Yeah, I agree. I think the hard part is less about learning Git commands and more about getting enough hands-on practice with the actual collaboration workflow. A small throwaway repo sounds like a good way to build that muscle memory. Then GitHub Skills can fill in the gaps with PRs, issues, reviews, and conflicts. |
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If you prefer learning by doing, I’d skip the long YouTube tutorials too. GitHub actually has a really good hands-on path called GitHub Skills. I’d recommend this order:
I’d skip GitHub Actions, Projects, Packages, advanced branch strategies, Codespaces, security features, and Git internals for now. They’re useful, but you don't need them to become comfortable with everyday GitHub. The nice thing about GitHub Skills is that the exercises happen directly inside GitHub using real features like Issues, Actions, and repositories, rather than being simulations. If I had to reduce the whole learning path to one sentence: Create repo → create branch → make change → commit → PR → review → merge → repeat → contribute to a real project. Once you can do that without constantly wondering “what do I click next?”, you're already comfortable with the core of GitHub. |
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Checkout GitHub Skills (Official) and Learn Git Branching to learn and to get Hands-On practical experience Core Concepts to Master First
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I’d recommend learning GitHub by building a small project and using Git/GitHub throughout it, rather than watching a long tutorial. A simple progression could be:
For resources, I’d start with GitHub’s own interactive Skills courses and the GitHub Docs rather than spending hours on YouTube. I also think beginners should focus on:
Things like GitHub Actions, advanced permissions, Git hooks, complex branching strategies, and advanced Git internals can wait until you actually need them. The fastest way to get comfortable, IMO, is to create a small personal project and deliberately use GitHub for every change. After a week or two of actually committing, branching, opening PRs, and fixing conflicts, the concepts become much easier to understand. |
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I’d honestly recommend learning GitHub by doing instead of watching 10-hour tutorials. A few resources that worked really well for this: GitHub Skills — still worth doing for the basics, but only the hands-on courses. Don’t try to complete the whole catalog.
The biggest thing is to actually practice the workflow. Create a small repo, make branches, open PRs against your own repo, review them, intentionally create a merge conflict, resolve it, and then move on to a real open-source project. That will teach you GitHub much faster than watching hours of tutorials. |
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哇塞！谢谢您，请问新手的话有哪些比较简单易上手的项目推荐呀 |
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If you're focusing on web development, you don't need advanced math at the beginning. Basic arithmetic, percentages, algebra, and logical thinking are usually enough for most HTML, CSS, JavaScript, React, and backend projects. |
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Bit late and it's already been answered. However you could always look at the training from Microsoft as well! |
I’d honestly recommend learning GitHub by doing instead of watching 10-hour tutorials.
A few resources that worked really well for this:
GitHub Skills — still worth doing for the basics, but only the hands-on courses. Don’t try to complete the whole catalog.
Learn Git Branching — genuinely good for understanding Git rather than memorizing commands.
Oh My Git! — a game-based way to learn Git. Much more engaging if traditional tutorials bore you.
Git Immersion — short, command-line-focused exercises where you actually work through Git instead of watching someone do it.
GitHub Lab — hands-on GitHub exercises focused on real workflows. Note: GitHub Lab's availability has changed over time, so…