What is Git and GitHub? A Complete Beginner's Guide

In Short

Git is a version control system that automatically tracks every change made to your files.

GitHub is a cloud platform where you can store Git-managed projects online for backup and collaboration.

What Problem Does Version Control Solve?

Without version control, many people manage files like this:

report.doc
report_final.doc
report_final_v2.doc
report_FINAL_real.doc

The problem: it’s hard to know which version is actually current, and difficult to track what changed between versions.

Git works differently: you maintain one set of files, but Git records the history of every change. You can view any point in time and revert to previous states whenever needed.

Understanding Through Google Drive

If you’ve used Google Drive, these concepts will be easier to grasp:

Google Drive	Git + GitHub
Save files to cloud	push to GitHub
Download files from cloud	pull
Version history	commit history
Share link with others	Make repo public
Multiple people editing	Collaboration (via PR)

Key difference: Google Drive syncs automatically. Git requires you to manually decide when to save (commit) and when to upload (push).

The benefit of manual control is that you decide exactly what changes go into each save point, rather than syncing every keystroke.

Git vs GitHub

Name	Description	Analogy
Git	Version control system, runs on your computer	Google Drive’s “Version history” feature
GitHub	Cloud platform for storing projects	Google Drive itself

Git tracks your changes. GitHub lets you access projects from any device, share with others, and collaborate with teams.

Git and GitHub relationship: push uploads to cloud, pull downloads from cloud

You can use Git without GitHub (projects stay local), but GitHub makes backup and collaboration much easier.

Four Core Operations

Commit and Push

Operation	Description
commit	Save changes to local history
push	Upload local commits to GitHub

You can commit multiple times, then push them all at once.

Fetch and Pull

Operation	Description
fetch	Download remote info without changing local files
pull	fetch + merge, directly update local files

Quick Reference

Direction	Safe version	Direct version
Download ↓	fetch (look only)	pull (update directly)
Upload ↑	commit (local only)	push (upload to cloud)

What is a Pull Request (PR)?

In collaborative projects, you typically don’t modify the main version directly. The standard workflow is:

Create a branch or fork
Make changes on your version
Submit a Pull Request to merge your changes into the main version
Others review, and if approved, merge

Why This Process?

Every change is reviewed before entering the main version
Discussion and suggestions happen on the PR
Complete record of all changes
Can be reverted if needed

Basic Commands

Initial Setup

# Configure identity (one time only)
git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "your@email.com"

# Create a new repository
git init

# Or clone an existing project
git clone https://github.com/username/repo.git

Daily Workflow

1. Check status

git status

2. Stage changes

# Add specific file
git add filename.js

# Add all changes
git add .

3. Commit

git commit -m "Describe this change"

4. Push

git push

5. Pull

git pull

Common Scenarios

Starting a New Project

mkdir my-project
cd my-project
git init

echo "# My Project" > README.md

git add .
git commit -m "Initial commit"

# Create repo on GitHub first, then connect
git remote add origin https://github.com/username/my-project.git
git push -u origin main

Working on an Existing Project

git clone https://github.com/username/project.git
cd project

# Make changes...

git add .
git commit -m "Describe changes"
git push

Creating a Feature Branch

git checkout -b new-feature

# Make changes...

git add .
git commit -m "Add new feature"
git push -u origin new-feature

# Then open a Pull Request on GitHub

Other GitHub Features

Feature	Description
Issues	Track bugs, feature requests, tasks
Actions	Automation (testing, building, deploying)
Pages	Free static website hosting
README	Project documentation, displayed on homepage

Tips for Beginners

Commit Often Small, frequent commits are better than large ones—easier to understand and revert.

Write Clear Commit Messages

# Unclear
git commit -m "fix"

# Clear
git commit -m "Fix login button not responding on mobile"

Pull Before You Push Run git pull before starting work to ensure you have the latest version.

Use .gitignore Create a .gitignore file to exclude files that shouldn’t be tracked:

node_modules/
.env
.DS_Store

Terminology Reference

Term	Description
Git	Version control system
GitHub	Cloud platform
Repository (Repo)	Project folder
commit	Save to local
push	Upload to cloud
pull	Download and merge from cloud
fetch	Download from cloud without merging
Branch	Parallel version
Pull Request (PR)	Request to merge changes

What is a Terminal? - Where you run Git commands

Sources

GitHub Docs - Official GitHub documentation
Git Documentation - Official Git reference
Pro Git Book - Free comprehensive Git guide

Get in Touch

Have questions or want to collaborate? Feel free to reach out!

dazai.studio

Dazai Chen

dazai.studio@gmail.com