Learn Git & GitHub for Beginners | (2026) Tutorial

Summary

This beginner tutorial explains how Git tracks project changes and how GitHub can host and share a repository.

Core concepts

• Git is free, open-source version control software. A repository (“repo”) tracks changes to files in a project.
• A commit is a saved snapshot of the project, providing a point to return to if something goes wrong.
• A local repository lives on your computer. A remote repository, commonly hosted on GitHub, can serve as a backup and help developers share work.
• Git identifies commits and file snapshots with unique hashes.
• Git tracks files rather than empty folders. Moving a file is recognized as a deletion at its old path and a new file at its new path.

Setup and basic workflow

• Install Git from git-scm.com. The tutorial demonstrates the Windows installer and notes that Mac and Linux instructions are also available.
• Configure a global Git username and email with git config. The presenter recommends using GitHub’s no-reply email to avoid exposing a personal email in public commit history.
• Create a project folder and initialize it with git init. Git stores repository data in the hidden .git folder.
• Use git status to check the current branch and identify untracked, modified, staged, or deleted files.
• The standard workflow is:
  1. Make changes in the working directory.
  2. Stage selected changes with git add.
  3. Save them in the repository with git commit -m "message".

Staging records a snapshot of a file at that point in time. If you edit it again after staging, stage it again to include the newer changes.

• git diff shows unstaged changes.
• git diff --staged compares staged changes with the latest commit.
• git add . stages detected changes, so the tutorial recommends checking git status to avoid including unintended files.
• git commit -a -m "message" can commit changes to tracked files without a separate staging step, but may include more changes than intended.
• Git can open the configured default editor for a commit message when git commit is run without -m.

Files, history, and undoing changes

• Use a .gitignore file to exclude files or folders—such as generated build files or files containing sensitive settings—from Git tracking.
• git restore <path> can undo an uncommitted deletion. The older git checkout command can also restore files.
• git log shows commit history, while git log --oneline gives a compact view. Adding --parents displays each commit’s parent, illustrating how Git links commits into a history.
• HEAD indicates the current commit, usually the latest commit on the active branch.
• git revert <commit> undoes a commit by creating a new commit that reverses its changes. It preserves the original commit in history.

Branching and merging

Branches let developers work on separate changes without putting unfinished work directly on main.

• Create a branch with git branch <name> and switch to it with git switch <name>.
• Use git switch -c <name> to create and switch to a branch in one step.
• Switching branches updates the working files to match the selected branch’s commit.
• To merge into a target branch, switch to it first, then run git merge <branch>.

The demonstration’s merge is a fast-forward: Git can move the main branch pointer forward because the feature branch continues directly from the latest main commit. After merging, a finished branch can be deleted with git branch -d <name>.

Connecting a local repository to GitHub

• Create an empty repository on GitHub, then link it locally with git remote add origin <URL>.
• When linking an existing local repository, the tutorial advises against initializing the GitHub repository with a README, .gitignore, or license, because those files would create a separate history.
• Use git push -u origin main to push the local branch and set its upstream relationship. Later pushes can use git push.
• On GitHub, the Code tab shows repository files and branches. The site also provides commit history, file viewing, raw-file access, downloading, browser-based editing, and options to clone or copy the repository.

Guide and resource mentioned

The presenter recommends a separate “VS Code for absolute beginners” video for viewers unfamiliar with the editor. VS Code is used in the demonstration to edit files and as Git’s configured default editor.

Main speaker/source: The tutorial is presented by the Coder Coder channel.