What Is Git? Distributed Version Control Overview
Git is a distributed version control system that tracks changes to files and coordinates work on those files among multiple people. Version control systems are handy for keeping track of file versions, which is useful for tracking your code, scripts, and text information. Git is one of the best open-source, cross-platform version control solutions: it enables distributed repository management and works fast over HTTP and SSH protocols, with a command-line utility or a Graphical User Interface.
Personally, I have found several commands to be essential for tracking my thesis
text sources (LaTeX) and versions of code.
In this brief tutorial I will share these commands with you.
For simplicity, I will give a starting point of setup —
initialising a Git repository and basic usage scenarios — in just 10 minutes of your time.
Installing Git on macOS with Homebrew
Since I work on macOS, I use the Homebrew package manager to install Git.
To install Homebrew, we can get it from https://brew.sh or with:
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
Next, Git installation with Homebrew, and Git’s location and version:
# Installing git with brew
brew install git
# Checking its path
which git
# Checking its version
git --version
Git Setup: Working Between Local and Remote Repositories
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Creating a Remote Git Repository on GitHub or Bitbucket
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Initializing a Local Git Repository with git init
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Configuring Git User Name and Email with git config
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Adding and Committing Files with git add and git commit
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Pushing and Pulling with Git Remote Repositories
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Essential Git Workflow Commands Reference
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Git Authentication with SSH Keys (ssh-keygen)
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Git Authentication with GitHub Personal Access Tokens
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Common Git Errors and Fixes
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References and Further Reading
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Git Setup and Workflow Summary
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