Install Git on MacOS and Linux

When it comes to installing Git on your computer there are a few different options depending on your operating system. For Mac users, you can use a program called Homebrew to easily install Git. Alternatively, you can download the installer from SourceForge and install it manually. Once you have Git installed, you can use the Terminal program to navigate your computer's file system and execute Git commands.

If you're using Linux, the process is a bit different but still relatively straightforward. You'll use your package manager to install Git, and then open the Bash program to start using it. Regardless of your operating system, it's important to understand some basic command line concepts like changing directories and listing files.

With Git installed and a basic understanding of the command line you'll be ready to start using Git for version control.

Key Takeaways

• There are multiple ways to install Git depending on your operating system.
• Once Git is installed, you can use the Terminal or Bash program to execute Git commands.
• Understanding basic command line concepts is essential for using Git effectively.

Installing Git on Mac

If you are using a Mac there are a couple of different ways to install Git. In this section, we will go over two options: using Homebrew and downloading from Sourceforge.

Using Homebrew

If you have Homebrew installed on your Mac installing Git is as easy as typing brew install git in your terminal.

Homebrew is a package manager that allows you to easily update Git down the road, as well as install other packages that might be related to Git or a particular project you're working on.

“If you don't have Homebrew installed, we suggest getting it for your Mac operating system.”

– CTO, UpLinkd Group

Downloading from Sourceforge

If you don't have Homebrew installed, you can download Git from Sourceforge. To do this, open up your browser and go to sourceforge.net/projects/git-osx-installer/files. Scroll down the page and download the latest version of Git. If there's a newer version available, go ahead and get that one instead. Once you have downloaded the installer, install Git and open up the terminal.

It's worth noting that every Mac comes with a program called Terminal, which you can use to work with Git. To check if Git is installed, type git --version in your terminal.

This will show you the version of Git that's currently installed on your machine.

That's it for installing Git on a Mac. In the next lesson, we will get started with GitHub.

Understanding Terminal

In order to use Git we need to be familiar with the command line interface - also known as the terminal. The terminal allows us to interact with our computer using text commands instead of a graphical user interface (GUI). This may seem daunting at first, but it's actually a very powerful tool that can help us perform tasks more efficiently.

To open the terminal on a Mac, we can use the program called Terminal. On a Linux machine, we can use a program called Bash. Once we have the terminal open, we can use commands like PWD to show the current working directory, CD to change directories, and LS -LA to list all of the files and folders in the current directory.

It's important to note that the terminal is case-sensitive, so we need to make sure we type commands and file names correctly. We can also use tab completion to help us type out long file names or commands more quickly.

Some common commands that we'll use when working with Git include git init to initialize a new repository, git add to add files to the staging area, and git commit to commit changes to the repository.

Overall, the terminal may seem intimidating at first, but with practice, we can become more comfortable using it and harness its power to work more efficiently with Git.

Installing Git on Linux

Now, let's talk about installing Git on Linux. There are a couple of ways to do this, depending on your Linux distribution.

Using Sudo Apt

If you're using Ubuntu 18 or later, you can simply open up your terminal and type:

This will install Git on your system.

Using Sudo Apt-Get

If you're using an older version of Ubuntu, such as Ubuntu 12, 14, or 16, you'll need to use the following command instead:

This will also install Git on your system.

Once you have Git installed, you can open up your terminal and type:

This will show you the version of Git that you're using.

That's it for installing Git on Linux. In the next lesson, we'll get started with GitHub.

Command Line Basics

As we dive into the world of Git and GitHub, it's important to have a solid understanding of the command line basics. In this section, we'll cover a few key commands that you'll be using frequently throughout this course.

PWD Command

The PWD command stands for "Print Working Directory". This command allows us to see the current directory that we're working in. To use this command, simply type "pwd" into your terminal and hit enter. This will display the full path of the current directory.

CD Command

The CD command stands for "Change Directory". This command allows us to navigate through our file system and move into different directories. To use this command, type "cd" followed by the name of the directory you want to move into. For example, if you want to move into a directory called "documents", you would type "cd documents". To move back up one directory, you can type "cd ..".

LS -LA Command

The LS -LA command allows us to view the contents of the current directory. The "LS" stands for "List" and the "-LA" is a set of options that tells the command to list all files, including hidden files, in long format. To use this command, simply type "ls -la" into your terminal and hit enter. This will display a list of all files and directories in the current directory.

In summary, these three commands are essential for navigating and working in the command line. The PWD command shows us where we are, the CD command allows us to move around, and the LS -LA command lets us see what's in the current directory. With these basics down, we're ready to move on to using Git and GitHub.

Introduction to GitHub

Now that we have Git installed on our computer, we can start using GitHub. GitHub is a web-based platform that allows us to store and manage our Git repositories online. It also provides collaboration features such as pull requests, code reviews, and issue tracking.

To get started with GitHub, we first need to create an account. Once we have an account, we can create a new repository by clicking on the "New" button on the main dashboard. We can choose a name for our repository and add a description if we want.

Github also allows us to add collaborators to our repositories. This is useful when we are working on a project with others. We can add collaborators by going to the "Settings" tab of our repository and clicking on "Collaborators". We can then enter the Github username of the person we want to add.

Another useful feature of GitHub is the ability to fork repositories. When we fork a repository, we create a copy of it in our own GitHub account. We can then make changes to the code and submit a pull request to the original repository owner. This is a great way to contribute to open-source projects.

In addition to managing our Git repositories, GitHub also provides a platform for hosting static websites. We can create a new repository with a special name format, and GitHub will automatically recognize it as a website. We can then add HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files to our repository to create our website.

“GitHub is a powerful tool for managing our Git repositories and collaborating with others.”

– CTO, UpLinkd Group

With its user-friendly interface and robust features, GitHub has become the go-to platform for many developers and organizations.