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Git Tutorial

Last Updated : 18 May, 2025
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Git is an essential tool for developers, enabling them to manage and track project changes. Whether you're working on a solo project or collaborating with a team, Git keeps everything organized and under control.

This Git Tutorial, from beginner to advanced, will give you a complete understanding of the basics of Git, making it easy to learn and implement in your projects. You will learn about GitHub fundamentals and advanced concepts like branches, pushing, merge conflicts, and many useful Git Commands.

Git Tutorial

What is Git?

Git is an open-source distributed version control system (DVCS) that allows developers to track and manage changes to their codebase. You can easily manage small as well as large projects with high speed and efficiency by Git. Unlike traditional version control systems, Git allows multiple developers to work on a project simultaneously without interfering with each other's work. We can use Git privately as well as publically.

Let's try to understand it by taking an example - Geeksforgeeks Web Development team is building a website in which two developers are working one is Developer A who is working on the homepage and another is Developer B who works on the contact form. They both clone the Github repository, create separate branches, make changes and commit their work. After completion of their code, they push their code and open pull requests for review. After approval, the changes are merged into the main branch. By using Git they can easily track the changes without any kind of interference in each other's work and keep the project organized.

  • Git was developed by Linus Torvalds in 2005 for Linux kernel development.
  • Git 2.49.0 is the Latest Versions of GIT, released on March 2025.

Why Use Git?

Git offers numerous benefits to developers and development teams:

  1. Version Control: Git helps in tracking changes, allowing you to go back to previous states if something goes wrong.
  2. Collaboration: It enables multiple developers to work on a project simultaneously without interfering with each other’s work.
  3. Backup: Your entire project history is saved in a Git repository, providing a backup of all versions.
  4. Branching and Merging: Git’s branching model allows you to experiment with new features or bug fixes independently from the main project.
  5. Open Source Projects: Most open source projects use Git for version control. Learning Git allows you to contribute to these projects.
  6. Industry Standard: Git is widely used in the software industry, making it an essential skill for developers.

Working with Git

The Git workflow involves the following steps:

  1. Initializing a Repository: When you initialize a folder with Git, it becomes a repository. Git logs all changes made to a hidden folder within that repository.
  2. Staging Changes: Git marks modified files as “staged.” Staging prepares changes for a snapshot you want to keep.
  3. Committing Changes: Once staged changes are satisfactory, commit them. Git maintains a complete record of each commit.
  4. Create and switch branches: Use "git branch" to create a new branch, and "git checkout" to switch to a different branch.
  5. Merge branches: Use "git merge" to merge changes from one branch into another. This combines the commits from both branches into a single branch.
  6. Push and pull changes: Use "git push" to upload your local commits to a remote repository, and "git pull" to fetch and integrate remote changes into your local repository.

What is Github?

GitHub, a hosting service for Git repositories, allows you to access and download projects from any computer. Here’s what you can do with GitHub:

  1. Store Repositories: GitHub hosts your repositories.
  2. Collaborate: Work with other developers from any location.
  3. Version Control: Manage collaborative workflows using Git and GitHub.

Introduction to Git

Git Basics

Git Installation

Git Commands

Git and GitHub

Git and GitHub in VS Code

Git and GitHub in Android Studio

Git and GitHub in Pycharm

Git and GitHub Deployment

Git Collaborating

Git Advanced

Git Workflow

A Git workflow is a set of guidelines that help teams collaborate effectively. Some common workflows include:

  • Centralized Workflow: In centralized workflow every contributor commit to the main branch without using any other branch.
  • Feature Branch Workflow: Each feature gets its own branch.
  • GitFlow Workflow: A more structured workflow involving feature, release, and hotfix branches.
  • Forking Workflow: Fork the project, make changes, and then create a pull request.
  • Pull Request Workflow: The pull request workflow in Git is a collaborative development process that helps manage changes to a codebase, especially in team environments.

Internal Working of Git

Git uses a decentralized model where each developer has their own copy of the repository and works immediately on the project. Git manages the projects with repositories and can clone a project to operate locally on it.

With staging and committing it track changes and control. You can pull the latest code of the project to the local copy, and push local updates to the main projects.

Git vs GitHub

The following table gives you a comparison between Git and Github:

AspectGitGitHub
DefinitionGit is a distributed version control system that tracks changes in the source code.GitHub is a cloud-based Git repository hosting service that enhances collaboration and code management.
PurposeTo manage versions of code and track changes locally.To host Git repositories online and allow collaboration and version control via Git.
InstallationGit is a command-line tool installed locally on your machine.GitHub is accessed via the web and requires no installation.
MaintenanceMaintained by the Linux community.Maintained by Microsoft since 2018.
FocusGit focuses on version control and managing code changes.GitHub focuses on hosting, collaboration, and project management.
HistoryGit was released in 2005 by Linus Torvalds.GitHub was launched in 2008 as a platform for Git repository hosting.
User Management Git does not have built-in user management.GitHub includes built-in user management, allowing for collaboration and permissions.
LicensingGit is open-source and free to use.GitHub offers free-tier and paid plans with additional features.
Tool IntegrationGit has minimal external tool integration.GitHub provides an active marketplace for integrations, including CI/CD, project management, and more.
InterfaceGit provides the Git GUI for graphical management.GitHub provides GitHub Desktop and web interfaces for managing repositories.
CompetitionGit competes with CVS, Mercurial, and Subversion.GitHub competes with GitLab, Bitbucket, and SourceForge.

Best Practices for Git

The following are the best practices which everyone must follow while using Git:

  1. Commit Frequently: Commit your changes regularly to avoid large, hard-to-merge commits.
  2. Write Meaningful Commit Messages: Write clear, concise commit messages that describe what changes were made.
  3. Use Branches for Features: Always create a new branch for new features or bug fixes to keep the main branch stable.
  4. Keep Your Repositories Organized: Maintain a clean and structured directory in your repository.

Common Git Problems and Their Fixes

Let's discuss some common git problems and how to fix it:

  1. Merge Conflicts: Always check for conflicting code before merging. Resolve conflicts manually and commit the resolved files.
  2. Detached HEAD State: When in a detached HEAD state, use git checkout <branch_name> to switch back to your branch.
  3. Commit Not Pushed: Ensure that you have pushed your commits to the remote repository using git push.

Next Article
Git Introduction

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