Git source control guide for beginners

Nathaniel Schweinberg
@nathanielks
FightTheCurrent.org

git is a Source Control
Management application
It keeps track of your code!

git stores only the changes
you make

git allows you to focus
on the feature you’re
writing

http://hades.name/blog/2010/01/22/git-your-friend-not-foe-vol-2-branches/

git allows multiple developers to
work on the same project

http://git-scm.com/about/distributed

Step 1: Install git

http://git-scm.com/book/en/Getting-Started-Installing-Git

Step 3: Get it set up

http://git-scm.com/book/en/Getting-Started-First-Time-Git-Setup

How git works

http://git-scm.com/about/staging-area

git init
Initializes a git repository
in current folder

git add .
Adds file . to the staging area
( . means current folder and all files inside )

git commit –m ‘initial commit’
Commits files added to staging area
( -m adds commit message )

git status
Shows current status of
working directory

http://git-scm.com/book/en/Git-Basics-Recording-Changes-to-the-Repository

Branching encourages
a few things
Frictionless Context Switching
Feature Based Workflow
Disposable Experimentation

http://git-scm.com/about

git branch name
Create new branch to work from

git checkout branchname
Sets working tree to branchname

git checkout –b branchname
Create and checkout into branchname

git merge branchname
Merges committed changes made in
branchname with current branch

Let’s add a remote repository

Two basic actions
git push git pull
Pushes changes to Pulls changes from
remote repo remote repo

Let’s integrate with
WordPress!

git clone
Use git clone to duplicate
a remote repository locally

Submodules!
Submodules allow you to keep separate
sections of your code under source control
( repos within repos )

git submodule add
repository
path/to/location
Adds submodule located at repository to
path/to/location within project

.gitignore
Use .gitignore to prevent files
from being added to the repo

Use descriptive commit
messages!

Master branch is stable
ONLY.
Always develop on a separate branch

Branch naming:
initials/feature-name
ns/some-cool-feature

Working with multiple
Devs

git rebase branchname
Updates current branch with changes made
in another

Resources:
http://bit.ly/WhatTheGit

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