Welcome to GitHub!

You probably haven't encountered GitHub yet, but that's okay. In this guide, we'll explain how Git works and focus on important concepts like Commit or Pull Request.

Navigation

• Basic Concepts
• Creating a Repository
• Setup / Committing from Visual Studio
• Setup / Committing from GitHub Desktop
• Setup / Committing from JetBrains Rider
• Setup / Committing from Terminal
• Collaboration between Classmates
• GitHub Student Developer Pack
• Resources

Basic Concepts

Git - Git is an open source tool that allows you to track changes in files. It's the fundamental technology that GitHub uses.

Repository (Repo) - A repository is the basic element of GitHub. You can say it's a folder where your project is located. This folder contains all the files of your project and stores the history of all changes for each file. You don't have to be the only one with access to the repository, as a repository can have multiple collaborators. A repository can be public or private.

Commit - A commit is a grouping of changes in a project. When you commit, Git creates a unique ID that allows you to keep records of these changes and also who and when made the change.

Organization - A GitHub Organization is like a profile that multiple users have access to. In this organization, you can create repositories.

Fork - A fork is a copy of another user's repository that gets saved among your repositories. Forks allow you to freely make changes to a project without affecting the original repository. However, you can open a Pull Request in the original repository.

Pull Request - Pull Requests are changes in a repository that a user has proposed and that you as the owner (or collaborator) of the original repository can accept or reject.

Push - Uploading local changes (not yet on GitHub) that are contained in commits to GitHub.

Pull - Downloading the current version of a repository from GitHub. If you've modified some files, a conflict (Merge Conflict) may occur, which needs to be resolved.

Branch - A branch is a project branch that you can add if you want to fix a bug or experiment with something, but don't want it to affect your project. Every repository has a default branch, but can contain others as well.

Merge - Merge is the combining of one branch into another by executing a Pull Request.

Merge Conflict - This is a state where multiple newer versions of a file exist in the code and it's unclear which version should be used.

License - A license is an important file that allows or prohibits you from using other users' code. A license may contain conditions and you can legally use code under this license only if you meet them.

IDE - Integrated Development Environment - is a development environment in which you'll work.

readme.md - This is a text file containing information about the repository. Since it's automatically displayed under the repository, it's usually the first file that a visitor to your repository will see. It's written in Markdown.

.gitignore - gitignore is a file that specifies which parts shouldn't be uploaded along with changes in a commit. It's used to filter out unnecessary files, for example those created by the IDE, or files with sensitive data.

Note: These are just basic concepts. We recommend reading the glossary from GitHub's official documentation: https://docs.github.com/en/get-started/quickstart/github-glossary

Creating a Repository

1. In the upper right corner, click + and click New Repository.

2. Name your repository, you can also add a description, readme file, .gitignore, license or change the repository to private. Then click Create Repository.

Setup / Committing from Visual Studio

Repository Setup

After installing Visual Studio, you must synchronize your GitHub repository so you can create commits from it.

1. After opening Visual Studio, choose Clone a repository, which is located in the right part of the window.

2. Here choose GitHub.

3. A window will pop up where you can log in by clicking Sign in... in the upper right part.

4. After successful login, Visual Studio will make your repositories available.

After selecting one of the repositories, it will download and you can edit it or use it otherwise.

Committing

After editing files, you must commit the changes.

1. After editing the project, Visual Studio will show how many changes were made. Click on the pencil in the lower right corner with a number (the number symbolizes how many files were changed), and the GIT panel will open.

2. Write a description of the commit and press Commit All.

3. Notice that Visual Studio says the commit was created locally - this means it's not yet in your repository on GitHub, but only on your computer. If you want to put it on GitHub, click Push, and Visual Studio will push it to GitHub.

Downloading Changes from GitHub / Fetch

Changes that were made in the repository by someone else won't download automatically, you must first fetch them and then pull them.

1. In the Git panel, click Fetch.

2. Visual Studio will then show you how many commits need to be downloaded so you have the most current version of the repository:

3. Click on the number of changes and then on Pull.

Setup / Committing from GitHub Desktop

Unlike other IDEs, GitHub Desktop is a stand-alone GIT client, which means it doesn't have IDE elements (Compiler, code editor, ...) but is intended only for committing and other GIT operations.

Repository Setup

After installing GitHub Desktop, you must synchronize your GitHub repository so you can commit from it.

1. On the left, click Clone a repository from the Internet
2. Then choose GitHub.com and click Sign In. Then in the security warning window, click Continue with browser.

4. In the browser, log into GitHub (if you're not already) and click Authorize desktop.

6. Your repositories will be displayed on the right. Choose the correct one and click Clone [repository name]. Choose where you want to save it and click Clone.

8. Your repository has just been cloned and you can start working.

Committing

After editing files, you need to make a commit. GitHub Desktop automatically tracks changes in files and displays them on the panel in the left part with each change.

1. In the lower left corner, write the commit name and optionally description, then click Commit to master.

2. Notice that your commit is not yet on GitHub, and GitHub Desktop says that one (or more) commits are available that haven't been pushed to GitHub yet - this means these commits are not yet in your repository on GitHub, but only on your computer. If you want to put them on GitHub, click Push origin, and GitHub Desktop will automatically push them to GitHub.

Downloading Changes from GitHub / Fetch

Changes that were made in the repository by someone else won't download automatically, you must first fetch them and then pull them.

1. On the top panel, click Fetch Origin. This will check the state of the repository and whether a newer commit is available.

2. If a newer commit is available, you'll see the option to pull changes. Pull them by clicking Pull origin.

Setup / Committing from JetBrains Rider

Repository Setup

After installing JetBrains Rider, you must synchronize your GitHub repository so you can commit from it.

1. After opening JetBrains Rider, choose Get from VCS.

2. After opening a new window, check if Rider recognizes Git in the system. If you see Git is not installed, click Download and install and wait for the process to finish (it may take a few minutes).

3. On the left in the menu, click GitHub and then Log in via GitHub..., which will open a web browser. Click the Authorize in GitHub button, log in, and after successful login, you'll see that you've successfully logged into GitHub and can close the tab.

4. After successful login, Rider will offer your repositories for download:

5. Click the Clone button - The repository will automatically download and you can use it.

Committing

After editing files, you need to make a commit.

1. In the upper right corner, you see GIT menu icons. For committing, click the green checkmark.

2. A menu will open on the left showing changed files. Write a commit description at the bottom and click Commit and Push.

3. This step is only necessary after the first commit from a new IDE: Git needs your information for the first run. Enter the information and then click Set and commit.

4. A window will appear summarizing what changes you're about to make. Click the Push button and Rider will upload the changes directly to GitHub.

Downloading Changes from GitHub / Fetch

Changes that were made in the repository by someone else won't download automatically, you must first fetch them and then pull them.

1. In the GIT panel, click the blue arrow pointing down.

2. After clicking, choose Merge incoming changes into current branch.

Setup / Committing from Terminal

Setup

1. Download GIT (installation guide is available on their website).
2. Configure your name and email.

$ git config --global user.name "Your Github Login"
$ git config --global user.email "your_email@something.something"

3. Initialize a Git repository in the folder. This command creates a new so-called local repository. Local repositories store changes only on your computer.

$ git init

If you want to use GitHub, you must add it as a remote origin. Remote origin is a repository that will be synchronized with your local one. This means you'll be able to pull changes made on GitHub (as remote), and push changes made in the local repository. However, this process is automated, so you just need to execute commands from the Committing and Downloading changes from GitHub sections. If you want to add your repo as remote, execute the following command, just change the URL address:

$ git remote add origin "https://github.com/github_login/repository_name.git"

3. Set the branch you want to work in (usually main or master).

$ git branch -M main

Committing

1. Select all changes you want to upload.

$ git add <changed_file>

or, if you want to upload all files:

$ git add .

2. Commit changes with an appropriate description of changes.

$ git commit -m "this is a commit description"

3. Push committed changes to GitHub.

$ git push

Downloading Changes from GitHub / Fetch

1. If you want to only get information about the current version of the remote repository, execute:

$ git fetch

2. If you want to download them afterwards, use:

$ git pull

Collaboration between Classmates

You're in a team with a classmate and you need to work on a project together, but you don't want each of you to have your own repository, you want to work on one. In that case, you can add your classmate as a collaborator to your repository.

1. Go to repository settings.

2. Click Manage Access (May require re-login).

3. Click Invite a collaborator.

4. Search for your classmate and add them.

5. Your classmate will then receive an invitation to their email address, which they will accept.

GitHub Student Developer Pack

GitHub provides a set of tools and benefits for free to students. Examples include JetBrains IDE or GitHub Copilot. Our school is registered with GitHub and therefore as a student you have the opportunity to use these benefits.

For the pack you need:

1. GitHub Account

2. Proof of school attendance from EduPage or ISIC

3. School email address (@spsknm.onmicrosoft.com)

Start by adding your school email address as secondary in settings:

Then go to https://education.github.com , where you log in and request a discount. Choose your school email address and write how you plan to use the GitHub Student Pack:

Then click continue and upload your scanned ISIC / screenshot from EduPage:

For Proof type put:

• if you sent ISIC - Dated School ID.

• if you sent a screenshot from EduPage - Other (Example: Screenshot of school portal).

And submit the request. GitHub should respond within 30 days.

Note: You need to ask your programming teacher for the school email address (@spsknm.onmicrosoft.com)

Note: We recommend reading the official GitHub Education documentation: https://docs.github.com/en/education. We also recommend reading the GitHub Education FAQ if you don't have ISIC: https://github.blog/2019-07-30-how-to-get-the-github-student-developer-pack-without-a-student-id/

Note: GitHub often changes these requirements, so this section may be out-of-date. If it is, we welcome pull-requests with corrected procedures.

Resources

GitHub Docs - https://github.com/github/docs/ under CC-BY 4.0 license