Summary and Schedule

This is a new lesson built with The Carpentries Workbench.

	Setup Instructions	Download files required for the lesson
Duration: 00h 00m	1. Introduction to Git	What is Git? What problem does it solve?
Duration: 00h 21m	2. Why use Git?	Why use version control?
Duration: 00h 41m	3. Fundamental concepts	What are the fundamental concepts of version control? What are commits? What are remotes? What is the staging area? What are branches?
Duration: 01h 01m	4. Your first Git repository	How do we create a Git repository? What are some of the basic Git commands?
Duration: 01h 22m	5. Tracking changes	How do we create a Git repository? What are some of the basic Git commands?
Duration: 01h 42m	6. Remotes: pushing and pulling	How do we interact with Git remotes? What does pushing and pulling mean?
Duration: 02h 02m	7. Cloning a repository	How do we collaborate with Git? How do we get code from GitHub into our computer? How do we revert changes that we do not want?
Duration: 02h 24m	8. Forking a repository	What does forking a repository mean? What is a merge conflict?
Duration: 02h 47m	9. Tips and best practices	How do we incorporate Git into our everyday work? What are some tips and best practices for working with Git?
Duration: 03h 07m	Finish

The actual schedule may vary slightly depending on the topics and exercises chosen by the instructor.

Please follow the steps below and install the required software before the scheduled workshop.

Software Setup

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We use VS Code for general coding. Make sure to install VS Code for your operating system following the instructions below:

• Windows
• macOS
• Linux

Discussion

Windows users

If you are a Windows user, you may also need WSL, the Windows Subsystem for Linux. WSL will allow you to use the Terminal from within VS Code and to execute UNIX style commands.

Follow the official instructions here.

After installing WSL, you will also need to install GitBash.

After installing GitBash, change the default Terminal executable on VS Code:

1. Open VS Code.
2. From the View menu select Command Palette --> Terminal: Select Default Profile.
3. Select GitBash as the default profile.

✅ You’re all set to use VS Code with GitBash on Windows.

Installing Git

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Windows

Windows users will need to install GitBash which is a linux-like terminal that comes pre-installed with Git.

You will use conda from within the GitBash shell to manage environments and software instalation.

1. Install GitBash

Windows checks:

• Open the GitBash terminal app.
• Check for (base) prefix in your prompt.
• If (base) is not present, open the “miniforge prompt” app and run conda init bash
• Open a new GitBash terminal session.
• Run conda --version
• Run git --version

macOS

Open the Terminal app and run git --version. You may be prompted to install git.

Note: You may be prompted to install Xcode which will take some time.

Linux

Your Linux distribution likely comes with Git. If not, click here and follow the instructions.

Configure Git

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If you are setting up Git for the first time, you will need to set your user name and email.

IMPORTANT:

• You must use same email as your github account.
• You should use an email address that you will always have access to (not a work or university address).

BASH

git config --global user.name "Alfredo Linguini"
git config --global user.email "a.linguini@gmail.com"

Please use your own name and email address instead of Alfredo’s. And make sure you use the same email associated with your GitHub account.

We will also set the default editor as nano.

BASH

git config --global core.editor "nano -w"

Setup Github

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Create a GitHub account

Create a new account at GitHub.com if you do not have one.

Again, use an email address that you will always have access to (not a work or university address).

Configure SSH access

If you do not have ssh set up for git create a new ssh key and add the key to your github account.

Note: On windows you should do this from the GitBash shell.

To confirm that your key is correctly configured run:

BASH

ssh -T git@github.com

Environment management with conda

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For certain workshops, you may need to install conda, an open-source software and package management system. This is usually necessary when working with Python code.

Our preferred flavour of conda is miniforge, but you could also use miniconda.

Click here and follow the miniforge installation instructions for your OS.