Init

In Git, init is used to initiate the process of creating a repository. When beginning a new project, this is the first step to take in order to track changes to the code throughout all files and folders.

Syntax

git init

Initializing a Git Repository

Step 1: Navigate to the Desired Directory

The init command initializes a Git repository in the current directory. Prior to using this command, users must take care to navigate to the appropriate directory — this will become the root directory of the repository. The cd command can be used to navigate the filesystem from the command line:

cd go/to/desired/project/directory

Step 2: Init

In the appropriate directory, initialize a repository to begin tracking changes made to all the files with the following git command:

git init

After the initialization is complete, the following should appear in the command line.

Initialized empty Git repository in /go/to/desired/project/directory/.git/

A new, hidden .git directory is then added alongside the new repository’s root directory. In this case, the root directory is directory.