Posted on Oct 22 • Originally published at blog.learnhub.africa Git and GitHub have become essential tools for developers looking to build their skills and collaborate on impactful open-source projects. This step-by-step guide will take you from git basics to advanced workflows, setting you up for success on your open-source journey.Git is an open-source distributed version control system that helps developers manage and track changes to their Code over time. With Git, you can record project history, roll back changes, and collaborate with other developers more efficiently.Unlike older centralized version control systems, git is distributed - every developer has a full copy of the code base on their local machine. This enables you to work offline and switch seamlessly between versions.Nearly all modern software development relies on Git for version control. It fosters better collaboration and enables developers to contribute more easily to open source. Mastering git is a must for any aspiring developer.Git comes pre-installed on many operating systems, but you can download the latest version from the official website. Follow the installation wizard, selecting your OS and preferred options.To confirm it is installed correctly, open your terminal or command prompt and enter:git --versionThis will print the version number if Git is installed.Once Git is installed, the first thing you'll want to do is set your username and email, which will be attached to your commits:It's also a good idea to set your default text editor for Git commit messages:This uses Visual Studio Code as the editor, but you can configure your preferred text editor here.With your identity set up, it's time to start using Git!To start using Git, you first need to initialize a repository - a designated folder that Git will track for version control.Navigate into your project directory and run:git initThis creates a hidden .git subfolder that contains all of Git's tracking data and metadata for the repo.Once you have a repo, you can start tracking files with these core commands:For example:This stages index.html, commits it to the repo history with a message and then prints the current state of the repository.Now that you understand Git's basics let's go deeper into branching - one of Git's killer features.Branching allows you to experiment with different versions of a project by diverging from the main line of development. The main branch is conventionally called main.To create a new branch:git branch new-featureThis creates a separate timeline starting from the current commit. To start working on that branch:git checkout new-featureAny commits you make will be added to new-feature without impacting main.Once your feature is complete, you can merge it back into main - this adds all the branch commits into the main timeline.Branching enables powerful workflows like Gitflow:Understanding these workflows will help you collaborate efficiently on open-source projects.So far, we've been working with local repositories on our machine. But to collaborate and share code, you need a remote repository hosted somewhere like GitHub.First, create a new empty repo on GitHub.com. Then connect your local repo to the remote:git remote add origin https://github.com/your-account/repo-name.gitThis associates your local repo with the GitHub repo.Now you can push your code to GitHub:git push -u origin mainThis pushes main to the origin remote. The -u flag tracks it as the default remote branch.To pull latest code from GitHub:git pull origin mainThis fetches and merges changes from the remote main branch into your local repo.Push and pull allows you to sync code between GitHub and your machine.Forking and cloning are great ways to start contributing to open-source projects.Forking creates a copy of a GitHub repository under your account. You can then clone your fork:git clone https://github.com/your-account/forked-repo.gitThis downloads the forked repo to your machine so you can make changes. Work on a branch:This pushes your branch to your fork. Finally, open a pull request to the original upstream repository to request your changes be merged.Fork, clone, branch, change, commit, push, PR - these compose the git workflow for contributing to open source!Follow these best practices as you work with Git:Adopting these practices early on will help you become a better open-source contributor.You now have a solid end-to-end understanding of Git fundamentals. Here are some more advanced topics to further master version control:As you tackle more challenging projects, revisit these skills to level up.You now have the key tools to start collaborating on impactful open-source projects. Here are some great ideas to make your first contribution:The open-source community is welcoming and encouraging to new contributors. GitHub makes it easy to discover interesting projects. Just filter by your favorite language or topics to get started.Before you know it, you'll be an open-source git pro!Contributing to open source goes beyond improving your coding skills - it allows you to make an impact and give back. Here's why the open-source contribution is so valuable:In the open source model, anyone can contribute regardless of their background. By participating, you help create better software that can benefit people everywhere.FreeCodeCamp is a popular open-source code learning platform. Help contribute to lessons, code challenges, tutorials, and more.First Contribution is a hands-on tutorial for making your first open-source contribution. Great for absolute beginners.CoderDojo is a volunteer-led community teaching kids to code. Contribute to their educational materials and open-source projects.Scratch is a programming language and online community for kids. Contribute projects, examples, documentation, and translations.LibreOffice is a free and open-source office suite. Help improve features, compatibility, localization, templates, and documentation.Godot Engine is an open-source game development engine. If you're interested in game dev, contribute to engine features, demos, tutorials, and docs.Home Assistant is an open-source home automation platform. Contribute integrations, improvements, and documentation for smart home tech.Jupyter is an open-source platform for interactive and exploratory computing. Contribute to Jupyter Notebook, JupyterLab, widgets, and extensions.The open-source community is much broader than just the big platforms. These lesser-known projects are still impactful and welcome new contributors.Git enables extremely powerful collaboration workflows for software teams. Mastering it unlocks new opportunities to get involved in impactful open-source projects.Start small - fix a typo, add documentation, or try tackling a beginner issue. Learn from senior developers during code reviews. Stay engaged with the community.Before long, you'll become a trusted contributor able to mentor newcomers yourself. Git skills translate directly to success on engineering teams.So get motivated and start collaborating on open source! Be part of a global community improving software for the benefit of all.I hope you enjoyed reading this guide and feel motivated to start your Python programming journey.If you like my work and want to help me continue dropping content like this, buy me a cup of coffee.If you find this post exciting, find more exciting posts on Learnhub Blog; we write everything tech from Cloud computing to Frontend Dev, Cybersecurity, AI, and Blockchain.Templates let you quickly answer FAQs or store snippets for re-use.Thank you for share the valuable guideline Are you sure you want to hide this comment? It will become hidden in your post, but will still be visible via the comment's permalink. Hide child comments as well Confirm For further actions, you may consider blocking this person and/or reporting abuse ByteHide - Oct 18 Bhavesh Yadav - Sep 28 Dumebi Okolo - Oct 18 Deon Pillsbury - Oct 18 Once suspended, scofieldidehen will not be able to comment or publish posts until their suspension is removed. Once unsuspended, scofieldidehen will be able to comment and publish posts again. Once unpublished, all posts by scofieldidehen will become hidden and only accessible to themselves. If scofieldidehen is not suspended, they can still re-publish their posts from their dashboard. Note: Once unpublished, this post will become invisible to the public and only accessible to Scofield Idehen. They can still re-publish the post if they are not suspended. Thanks for keeping DEV Community safe. Here is what you can do to flag scofieldidehen: scofieldidehen consistently posts content that violates DEV Community's code of conduct because it is harassing, offensive or spammy. Unflagging scofieldidehen will restore default visibility to their posts. DEV Community — A constructive and inclusive social network for software developers. With you every step of your journey. Built on Forem — the open source software that powers DEV and other inclusive communities.Made with love and Ruby on Rails. DEV Community © 2016 - 2023. We're a place where coders share, stay up-to-date and grow their careers.