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Introduction to GitHub

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The Main Branch

In Git, the main project is completed on the main branch. Making your first commit in a new git repository will automatically create a main branch. Create new branches from the main branch to develop new features for a project. These branches can be merged into main at a later time to incorporate the new features. You can use git branch to check what branch you’re on.

$ git init
Initialized empty Git repository in /home/ccuser/new-project/.git/
$ echo "Hello World!" >> hello.txt
$ git add hello.txt 
$ git commit -m 'initial commit'
[master (root-commit) bb0e565] initial commit
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+)
 create mode 100644 hello.txt
$ git branch
* master

Committing Your Code

The git commit -m "log message here" command creates a new commit containing:

  • The current contents of the staging area
  • A log message describing the changes to the repository

A commit is the last step in our Git workflow. A commit permanently stores changes from the staging area inside the repository. This command is almost always used in conjunction with the git add command as git add is used to add files to the staging area.

$ git commit -m "Added About section to README"
[master 9d63f80] Added About section to README
1 file changed, 10 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

Deleting a Branch

In Git, the git branch -d branch_name command is used to delete the branch_name branch. It’s good practice to delete a branch after it has been merged into the master branch.

git branch -d new-feature will delete the branch with the name "new-feature"

Pull Requests on GitHub

A pull request is a feature of GitHub and other source code management tools that allow a repository’s collaborators to review and give feedback on proposed code changes before they are accepted and merged to another branch, usually the main branch. Each pull request creates a discussion forum that can be used by reviewers and authors alike to highlight or add comments to a single line of code or chunk of code, add videos or images, etc.

Going through the pull request process can increase group knowledge, improve product quality, and develop professional skills through group critique.

An image showing that the sonia_feature_navigation_menu branch cannot be merged automatically into the main branch when comparing the two branches.

Learn more on Codecademy

  • Career path

    Front-End Engineer

    Front-end engineers work closely with designers to make websites beautiful, functional, and fast.
    • Includes 34 Courses
    • With Professional Certification
    • Beginner Friendly.
      115 hours
  • Career path

    Back-End Engineer

    Back-end developers deal with the hidden processes that run behind the scenes, building APIs and databases that power the front-end.
    • Includes 41 Courses
    • With Professional Certification
    • Beginner Friendly.
      105 hours
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