“Hello Version Control” Exercise

Learning Objectives

Gain familiarity with basic version control operations, including creating repositories, pushing and pulling code, and making commits.

Instructions

  1. On GitHub, create a new repository named something like “my-first-repo”, and make sure to include a “README.md” file. We’ll refer to this as the “remote repository”.
  2. Use your Git client of choice to “clone” (download) the remote repository onto your local machine, for example onto the Desktop. We’ll refer to this as the “local repository”.
  3. Open the local repository in your text editor.
  4. Use your text editor to edit the README.md file, using content like the example markdown below. Remember to save the file when you’re done editing.
  5. Use your Git Client to stage the changes and “make a commit” (save a new version) with a message like “Update README contents”.
  6. Use your Git Client to “push” the changes to GitHub / sync with the remote repository.

Example markdown (“README.md” file):

# My First Repo!

This is the README.md file. It uses the markdown language.

Here is a list:

  + Item 1
  + Item 2
  + Item 3

For more information about Markdown syntax, see the [Markdown Cheat Sheet](https://www.markdownguide.org/cheat-sheet/).

Success Criteria

Once you see the updated README file contents reflected in your remote repository on GitHub, you have succeeded. Repeat the file-editing, committing and pushing steps at least one more time for good measure.

Walkthrough Video

Optional Further Exploration (Git CLI)

Beginners are recommended to use GitHub Desktop to complete the exercise above, however if anyone is interested in completing the exercise using Git from the command line, see the commands below.

Cloning a repo given its remote address:

# navigate to the desktop or wherever you want the repo to be downloaded:
cd ~/Desktop

# specify the the remote address of your own GitHub repo:
git clone git@github.com:YOUR_USERNAME/my-first-repo.git

Navigating into the repo’s root directory:

cd my-first-repo/

Opening the repo in the VS Code text editor:

code .

Staging and committing changes (after editing and saving files):

git add .
git commit -m "My first commit"

Pushing the changes up to GitHub:

git push origin main