Git Basic Concepts

Index & Table Of Contents
Summary

This document is an introduction to Git, a powerful version control system used in software development. If you’re new to coding or want to collaborate on projects, understanding Git is essential.

At its core, version control is a system that tracks every change made to a set of files over time. This means you can see who changed what, when they did it, and you can even revert to a previous version if a mistake is made. It’s like a time machine for your project.

Git is the most popular version control system. It’s distributed, which means every developer working on a project has a complete copy of its history on their own computer. This makes it easy to work offline and collaborate with others.

Here are the key ideas you need to know:

  • Repository (Repo): This is the folder where your project lives. Git tracks all the files within this folder.
  • Commit: Think of a commit as a snapshot or a save point. When you’ve made changes you’re happy with, you “commit” them with a message describing what you did.
  • Branch: A branch is a separate line of development. You can create a new branch to work on a new feature without affecting the main project. Once the feature is complete, you can merge it back.
  • Remote: This is a version of your repository hosted somewhere else, like on the internet (e.g., on GitHub). It’s the central place where everyone on a team can share their work.
  • Push & Pull: You push your commits from your computer up to the remote repository to share them with others. You pull changes from the remote repository to get the latest updates from your teammates.
  • Clone: This is how you get a local copy of a remote repository on your machine to start working on it.

The basic workflow is to pull any recent changes, make your own changes and commit them, and then push them back to the remote repository for others to see.

Version control, especially using Git, is a critical skill in software development. Here’s an introduction to both concepts:

0.- What is Version Control? #

Version Control is a system that helps track changes to files over time. It allows multiple people to collaborate on a project by keeping track of every modification made, who made it, and when. This system also enables reverting files or even entire projects back to a previous state if something goes wrong.

Key Benefits:

  1. Collaboration: Multiple people can work on the same project simultaneously without overwriting each other’s work.
  2. History: Every change is recorded, making it easy to review the history of a project.
  3. Backup: Since all changes are stored, you can always go back to a previous version of your project.
  4. Branching: Different lines of development can be managed simultaneously.

1.- What is Git? #

Git is a widely-used version control system that allows developers to manage and track changes in their codebase. It’s distributed, meaning that every developer has a full copy of the project’s history on their local machine, enabling them to work offline and collaborate efficiently.

1.1.- Key Concepts in Git #

  1. Repository (Repo): A Git repository is a directory where Git tracks changes. It contains all the project files and a .git directory, which holds the version history.
  2. Commit: A commit is like a screenshot of your project at a certain point in time. When you commit, you record changes to the repository, along with a message describing what was changed and why.
  3. Remote: A remote repository is a version of your project that is hosted on the internet or another network. It’s usually shared among collaborators.
  4. Fetch: Fetching downloads the information of the remote repository. It does not download any comits or changes, just updates the local repository with the lastest information present on the remote repository.
  5. Pull: Pulling download any pending comits on the remote repository to your local repository. Before pulling any changes, you need to fetch the lastest repository information.
  6. Push: Pushing uploads any pending comits on your local repository to the remote repository. Before pushing any local changes, you need to create a comit with those local changes.
  7. Clone: When you clone a repository, you download a copy of it on your local machine.
  8. Branch: A branch is a separate line of development. By default, Git projects have a main branch called main (or master in older projects). Developers can create new branches to work on features independently.
  9. Merge: Merging is the process of combining changes from different branches. Merging is directional, you take the changes from a branch to another.

1.2.- Git Clients #

A git client is a program that you have installed on your local machine that allows managing your local repositories & communicates with your git host. With this program you do most of the actions (comit, fetch, pull, clone…) that you need to perform while using a repository.

Here are a few git clients:

NameDescPriceGitHubGitLabSourcetree
Git CLIConsole based client. No GUI, no buttons, almost no feedback. The most complete but also most complex to use.FreeYesYesYes
GitHub DesktopSimplest client, easy to use, only works with GitHub
No branch visualization		FreeYesNoNo
SourcetreePretty complete & flexible client. Somewhat simple gui structure. Hard to use for beginners. Good branch visualization.
Fails regularely and gives out unclear error messages.		FreeYesYesYes
ForkSimilar to sourcetree but more robust and with clearer error messages. Good branch visualization.Unlimited trial
59.99$ lifetime		YesYesYes
GitKrakenSimple & intuitive to use. Flexible with a lot of options. Great branch visualization.
Almost never fails. 		Free for public
9$ Monthly		YesYesYes

1.3.- Git Hosts #

A git host is a hosting service for git projects. If you want to have your project always available & backed up, you need to use a git host. Having a git host, enables collaboration between multiple people & multiple local machines. Most git hosts also provide with administrative tools like, user management, automatic build tools, automatic testing…

Here are a few git hosts:

NamePriceSize limitUser manager
GitHubFree~2gbPaid
SourcetreeFree~1gbLimited on free
GitLabFree10gbYes

2.- Basic Git Workflow #

Creating a project:

  1. Create a repository on your desired git hosting service
  2. Clone that repository to your local machine
  3. Create the project inside the local repository
  4. Comit & push the project

Once created the repository and the project, you can work normally following these simple instructions:

Before starting to work:

  1. Fetch
    • Check if any changes are pending to download
  2. Pull
    • Download pending changes
  3. Open project
  4. Start to work

When you end work, or want to upload changes:

  1. Save all changes
    • Is recommended to compile the project & test it before uploading any changes
    • If you are working on a project with multiple people, before uploading any changes, fetch & pull possible changes made
  2. Close project
  3. Comit changes
    • Always put a descriptive but concise comit title
  4. Push
Updated on 2025-08-26