​​​​​​​Version Control with Git and GitHub

Understand how developers track and collaborate on code step by step.

🔹 What is Version Control?

Version control is a system that:

• Tracks changes to files over time

• Lets multiple people work on the same project without overwriting each other

• Stores history so you can go back to previous versions

✅ Used for coding, writing, documents, designs — anything that changes over time.

🔹 What is Git?

Git is a version control system — a tool you install on your computer.
It helps you:

• Track code changes

• Manage multiple versions (branches)

• Collaborate with others

• Undo mistakes

🛠️ Git works locally (on your computer) and is free & open-source.

🔹 What is GitHub?

GitHub is a cloud platform that:

• Stores Git repositories (your project folders)

• Lets you collaborate online

• Adds features like bug tracking, pull requests, and project management

📌 Think:
Git = tool
GitHub = online service for sharing Git projects

🧭 Git + GitHub: Step-by-Step Workflow

🔸 Step 1: Install Git

• Go to https://git-scm.com

• Download and install Git for your OS (Windows, macOS, Linux)

• Open your terminal and run:

git --version

✅ If it shows a version, Git is installed.

🔸 Step 2: Configure Git (first time only)

git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "[email protected]"

🔸 Step 3: Create a Git Repository (repo)

A repository is your project folder that Git will track.

mkdir my-project
cd my-project
git init

✅ Now Git is tracking your folder.

🔸 Step 4: Make Changes and Save Versions

Create a file:

echo "Hello World" > hello.txt

Then:

git add hello.txt      # Stage the file
git commit -m "Add hello.txt"  # Save the version

🔸 Step 5: View History

git log

📜 Shows all commits (versions) with dates, messages, and author info.

🔸 Step 6: Create a GitHub Repository

• Go to https://github.com

• Click ➕ “New Repository”

• Give it a name (e.g., my-project)

• Click Create repository

🔸 Step 7: Push Your Code to GitHub

In terminal (after creating the repo on GitHub):

git remote add origin https://github.com/yourusername/my-project.git
git branch -M main
git push -u origin main

✅ Your local code is now online on GitHub.

🔁 Common Git Commands

🌱 Branches

Branches let you try new ideas without changing the main code.

git checkout -b new-feature

Later you can merge it into main:

git checkout main
git merge new-feature

🤝 GitHub Collaboration Features

• ✅ Pull requests — suggest changes to others’ code

• 💬 Issues — report bugs, request features

• 📂 Forks — copy someone else’s repo to your account

• 🔄 Merge — apply changes from one branch into another

🔒 Private vs Public Repos

• Public — anyone can see and fork your code

• Private — only invited users can see

📦 Real-Life Use Cases

🔚 Summary