GithHub is a popular version control and collaboration platform which is often used by software developers. This Code hosting web-based platform is owned and acquired by Microsoft in 2018. It is well-known for introducing software as a service type of business model which uses an open source code management system.

GitHub is a software which is used by developers to store source code for projects. It is also used to track the history of your code and the changes that you have made in your code. With these mentioned features, developers could collaborate and communicate easily with each other on a specific project. In addition to that, through Github, you will also be able to do social coding through web interface of Git code repository.

GitHub is easy to use even for beginners or novice coders. It’s interface is simple and pretty straightforward. Furthermore, as mentioned earlier, GitHub offers free sign up and host public code repository for free which makes it very popular with open-source projects. However, you will have to pay a free if you wish to use private code repositories.

In using GitHub, one of the most important thing that you will need to learn is how to download files. If you do not know how to do it, do not worry as through this article, we shall guide you step by step and provide your important information that you would need in order for you to be able to use GitHub without any worries and difficulties.

Before we go into in-depth details, it is important to learn first about terminologies used in GitHub and one of the most important term that you would need to learn is repository. So, what is a repository?

A repository is often used in GitHub to organize projects. It comes with folders, files, images, videos and spreadsheets or data sets. For you to be able to create a new repository, all you have to do is click + and select New repository. This could be found on the upper right corner next to your avatar. Enter the name of your repository and write a description about it. Click initialize this repository with a README and click on create repository.

How to Download Files from GitHub?

Now that we have learned what repository is, let us now go into the step by step guide on how to download files from GitHub.

• Go to public codebase
• Choose the file or project you would wish to download
• On the top right corner, you will find a green button which says Clone or Download.

• Click on clone or download dropdown

• On the dropdown, select Download ZIP. This will download all the files on your downloads folder.

• Unzip the folder and you will find all the files you would wish to access.

If you are downloading only a single or individual file, we highly suggest that you do the method provided below instead. This way, you will not have any hassles or difficult time looking through all the projects, codes and files. All you need to do is follow the steps below.

• Browse the file you wish to download
• Click Raw button found beside the Blame and History button. This will provide you the plain text version on your browser without GitHub’s interface.

• Enter CMD/Ctrl + S
• This will save your file from your browser.
• If the file is not a text or code file, click the download button found on the file instead.

If you wish to download files on GitHub in a simpler and straightforward manner, the method below is the best way to go. Through this method, you will be able to view the code files. This method is known as forking.

Forking comes with numerous benefits and one of which is it allows you to be able to experiment with the codes without having to affect the original project. This is possible as when you download the codes, it will be your own copy or “fork”. In other words, through forking, you will be able to propose changes on someone’s project and fix or add features.

How to Download Files from GitHub Using Forking Method?

• Go to www.github.com
• Create a free Github account
• Go to public repository and choose a project
• On the top right corner, you will find a button which says Fork

• Click on the Fork button.
• Click Code

• If you wish to clone with HTTPS, click the clipboard looking icon.

• Open the Terminal.
• Change your current working directory to your preferred directory by typing git clone
• Paste the URL that you have copied
• Press Enter

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