The everyday developer’s
guide to version
control with git

so, what’s git?

“ Git is distributed version control system
focused on speed, effectivity and real-
world usability on large projects.
- git-scm.com

basic source control system (example)
http://hoth.entp.com/output/git_for_designers.html

but why git?

lots of people use it (it’s common)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Git_(software)

let’s git started

create (initialize) a repository
$ cd (project-directory)
$ git init
Initialized empty Git repository in .git/

your first save (commit)
$ git commit -m 'Initial commit'

create some files
$ touch README

see what’s changed
$ git status
# On branch master
#
# Initial commit
#
# Untracked files:
# (use "git add <file>..." to include in what will be committed)
#
# README
nothing added to commit but untracked files present (use "git add" to
track)

adding files
Adding a individual file
$ git add README
Adding a multiple files
$ git add .

see what’s changed (again)
$ git status
# On branch master
#
# Initial commit
#
# Changes to be committed:
# (use "git rm --cached <file>..." to unstage)
#
# new file: README
#

save (commit) your changes
$ git commit -m 'Added README file'
Created initial commit c1195b5: Added README file
0 files changed, 0 insertions(+), 0 deletions(-)
create mode 100644 README

check your history
$ git log
commit c1195b51d6e99dcc6e88b6ae44eea20ba1f0868e
Author: Erin Carter <me@erincarter.com>
Date: Thu Oct 29 12:21:24 2009 -0500
Added README file

developing with git

undoing your changes
$ git checkout README

reverting to specific version
$ git checkout
3607253d20c7a295965f798109f9d4af0fbeedd8 <file name>

reverting back
$ git reset HEAD <file name>

developing parallel with branching
http://hoth.entp.com/output/git_for_designers.html

create a branch
$ git checkout -b bugfix
Switched to a new branch “bugfix”

switching branches
$ git status
# On branch bugfix
nothing to commit (working directory clean)
$ git checkout master
Switched to branch “master”

collaborating with git

public repos = free
private repos = cheap
http://github.com

clone a hosted repository
$ git clone git://github.com/git/hello-
world.git
Initialized empty Git repository in /Users/me/Projects/hello-
world/.git/
remote: Counting objects: 158, done.
remote: Compressing objects: 100% (79/79), done.
remote: Total 158 (delta 54), reused 157 (delta 54)
Receiving objects: 100% (158/158), 15.62 KiB, done.
Resolving deltas: 100% (54/54), done.
$ cd hello-world

pull changes (and pull often)
$ git pull origin master

add changes to master
$ git checkout master
$ git merge bugfix

push changes
$ git push origin master

configure & customize git

configuring
$ git config --global user.name "Erin Carter"
$ git config --global user.email "me@erincarter.com"

add pretty colors
$ git config --global color.diff auto
$ git config --global color.status auto
$ git config --global color.branch auto

git tools

gitk
usually comes with git - http://gitk.sourceforge.net/

GitX
http://gitx.frim.nl

TortoiseGit
http://code.google.com/p/tortoisegit/

git resources

Pro Git (book)
free online at http://progit.org/book/

Pragmatic Version Control Using Git (book)
http://www.pragprog.com/titles/tsgit/pragmatic-version-control-using-git

Git Community Book
http://book.git-scm.com/

Git Cheat Sheet
http://ktown.kde.org/~zrusin/git/git-cheat-sheet-large.png

what to remember
‣ commit often
‣ pull often
‣ use checkout and reset with caution
‣ create your own repository anywhere
http://hoth.entp.com/output/git_for_designers.html

fin

@erincarter
me@erincarter.com
linkedin.com/in/erincarter
illustrations by Simon Oxley of idokungfood.com
theme inspired by Scott Chacon’s git-scm.com