Summary
This guide will show how to install Git on Windows, create a
local repository, and then push it to GitHub.
Installing Git
Download the installer for Windows from the Git official site.
Execute the downloaded file. In the page Select
Components you can leave the options at their defaults.
The Windows Explorer integration > Context menu
entries option allows opening the Git command prompt (Git
Bash) from any folder by clicking with the right mouse button
on the folder and selecting Git Bash Here. The last option is
also interesting in that it installs a better font for all console
windows.
Note: Git for Windows comes with its own command prompt
(Git Bash) that, besides git commands, has some useful Unix
commands (and it looks better than the Windows default
prompt).
On the next screen (Adjusting your path environment), I
choose the most conservative option: Use Git Bash only.
This will make git commands available only in Git Bash and
will not alter your PATH variable. Click Next.
Another important setting: line endings. As you may know,
Windows and Unix systems (Linux, Mac) have different
formats of line breaks on text files. If you write a file with
Windows line breaks, another person may have problems
opening that file in Linux and vice-versa. The line endings
setting allows you to normalize this.
I prefer choosing the second option (Checkout as-is, commit
Unix-style line endings), that won't change the line breaks
when the file arrives but will convert them to Unix-style when
you commit. That way, you don't risk committing Windows-
style line breaks and everything is kept in Unix-style. Don't
worry, even though you are in Windows, most of the text
editors can read Unix line breaks just fine.
After that one more Next, Finish, and Git is installed!
Creating a Local Repository
Let's test it. Create a folder, right-click, and choose Git Bash
Here.
Before anything else, let's inform Git who you are so that your
commits can be identified. Enter the commands, replace the
quoted data with your real name and e-mail: (press Enter after
each one).
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git config --global [Link] "Firstname Lastname"
git config --global [Link] "your_email@[Link]"
bash
Now let's initialize a Git repository on this folder:
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git init
shell
See that (master) on the command line? It tells you the current
branch you are in a Git repository. The master branch is the
main branch on every Git repo.
Now let's add a new file and commit it. Look at the command
sequence (press Enter after each one):
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touch [Link]
git add .
git commit -m "First commit"
shell
First, we create an empty text file (you can create the file any
way you like, not necessarily with the touch command). Then
we add all new and modified files to the Git index (we tell Git
which files we want to commit on the next commit). And finally
we commit the changes with a message.
Sharing Your Code on GitHub
Cool! You have a Git repo in your machine but how about
sharing your code on GitHub?
Initial Setup
If you don't have a GitHub account yet, go to http://
[Link] and create one. It's free.
After you signup and login, let's add an SSH key so GitHub
can link your account with this computer. That way it won't
have to ask for your password on every commit.
On Git Bash enter the command:
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ssh-keygen -t rsa -C "your_email@[Link]"
bash
Use the same email you registered at GitHub.
On the next question, press Enter to choose the default value.
Now it will ask for a password. Enter a password (this is NOT
your GitHub password). When it asks for a confirmation, enter
the password again. Now enter the command:
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notepad ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub
bash
To open on Notepad the file that was created.
On GitHub, go to Settings and then SSH and GPG Keys.
Click New SSH key. Enter a title to identify this computer and
in the field Key paste all the contents of the file id_rsa.pub.
Be careful to copy and paste all the contents of the file,
beginning at "ssh-ras ..." up to your email (including it).
Click Add SSH key.
Let's check if everything is ok. On Git Bash enter:
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ssh -T git@[Link]
bash
It will ask if you want to connect to a remote machine.
Type yes and press Enter. Next, it will ask for a password.
Enter the password you used on the ssh-keygen command.
If you see a message like:
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Hi user! You've successfully authenticated, but GitHub does not
provide shell access.
Then everything is correct!
Creating Your First Remote Repository
On GitHub, let's create a new repository (button New
repository on your dashboard). Enter a name; it should not
have spaces or special characters, as it will be part of the URL
of your new repo. You can leave the rest of the options at their
defaults.
You will be taken to the main page of your repository, that
doesn't have any files yet.
On Git Bash (on the folder of your local repository) enter:
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git remote add origin git@[Link]:user/repo_name.git
bash
Note that user/repo_name must be entered the same way
they appear in your repository URL, like:
[Link]
Now, to send your files to GitHub, enter:
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git push origin master
bash
Inform the password of the SSH key if it asks.
Reload the page of your repo on GitHub and you should see
your committed files.
Conclusion
Even though Git originated on Linux (did you know that it was
created by Linus Torvalds, the same guy who created Linux?),
developers on all system can benefit from it. Git is an excellent
SCM (source code management) system, widely adopted,
and the open-source community on GitHub is vibrant! You
can find code for pretty much anything you want, contribute
with other developers and share your own solutions.
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