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Last month I began introducing the various concepts and terminology used by Git. This month we'll be taking it a step further, and running through a series of examples on actually using Git (in combination with GitHub; creating a custom Git server falls outside of the scope of this article). I will be assuming you either have a free account with GitHub, or else that you have found someone's repository you'd like to clone. For anyone who is interested, I created a public repository for this article, which can be found here: https://github.com/lswest/Command-Conquer-Examples.
Note: If you don't have a GitHub account, and are using someone's repository, you will not necessarily be able to push to them. You can create your own copy of the repository by forking it (requires an account as well).
Step One: Create a Repository
If you would prefer to use an existing repository (or not create a GitHub account), skip this step.
At the very top of the screen when logged into GitHub, you'll see your username, and next to that a plus sign. Click the plus to create a new repository. You can enter the following information:
Required: • Repository Name • Owner • Public/Private (Private is available to only paying members)
Optional: • Description of the repository • Initialize with a README • .gitignore settings • Choosing a license for the repository.
Step Two: Clone the Git Repository
There are some GUI Tools for Linux, but for the sake of this article, I will refer to only the actual terminal commands: • Open a terminal. • cd to any subfolder where you want the repository located. • Enter:
git clone https://github.com/lswest/Command-Conquer-Examples.git
• Depending on the size of the repository, it may take a moment. Once you're back at your prompt, you have successfully cloned it. You may now want to cd into the repository folder (in my case: cd Command-Conquer-Examples).
Step Three: Making Changes
For the sake of this example, I'll be editing the README.md file. Naturally, the procedure is the same with any edit: • Open the file in your favourite editor. • Make your changes. • Once the file is saved, you then need the following command:
git add <file>
Note: if you want to add all files, simply use a period instead of the name of the file.
Step Four: Commit
Once you've added the file you want, and are ready to commit them into the next update to your repository, you can run the following command:
git commit
If you run the command like this without any arguments or parameters, it will prompt you to enter a message for the commit before finishing. A couple useful options are: • -a: Automatically adds any changes files (but ignores newly added/removed files). • -m <msg>: Uses the message supplied for the commit message – i.e. -m “First commit – edited README.md”.
Step Five: Push
Now that you've created a commit listing all the changes you want to take over onto the remote repository, you're ready to synchronize them. In Git this is called a push. The format of the command is:
git push <local> <remote>
By default when using Github, the local will be origin, and the remote will be master. If you're working on a more complicated repository, you'll need to check the exact branch names. In this example, the command will most likely be:
git push origin master
If you haven't configured git to store your username and password for Github, you'll be prompted for those now. As is the custom in Linux, the prompt for the password will not display any characters at all, but will indeed register your keystrokes.
Step Six: Checking the Remote
Once you've pushed your changes, you'll see the newest commit listed on the repository page. The commit message appears only on files that were affected by it. This helps to keep track of which files aren't being changed frequently.
Further Possibilities
Possibility One: Adding a New File
In step 3, we discussed how to edit files that already exist in the repository. First create a new file using whatever method you need, and then add it to a commit with git add <file>. Once you've added it, follow steps 4-5.
Possibility Two: Removing a File
If you want to remove a file from the repository, simply deleting it from the filesystem isn't enough. You'd need to use the git command, git rm. Once a file is deleted with this (i.e. git rm “Adding a file.txt”), you can then commit the change and push it to the repository, by following the steps 4-5.
Hopefully this article has helped to shed some light on using GitHub and Git repositories. If you have any difficulties, or want information on a specific scenario, feel free to email me with your questions. As always, I can be reached at lswest34+fcm@gmail.com. For anyone who is interested in hosting their own git servers, I would be happy to write an article on this topic too (if there is sufficient interest).