GIT and GitHub Basics - Bootcamp

Master the essentials and the tricky bits: rebasing, squashing, stashing, reflogs, blobs, trees, & more!


What you'll learn
Understand how Git works behind the scenes
Master the essential Git workflow: adding & committing
Perform Git merges and resolve merge conflicts
Master Git stashing
Work with local and remote repositories
Squash, clean up, and rewrite history using interactive rebase
Write custom and powerful Git aliases
Host static websites using Github Pages
Share code and snippets using Github Gists
Explain the difference Git objects: trees, blobs, commits, and annotated tags
Work with Git branches
Use Git diff to reveal changes over time
Undo changes using git restore, git revert, and git reset
Master collaboration workflows: pull requests, "fork & clone", etc.
Retrieve "lost" work using git reflogs
Mark releases and versions using Git tags
Create markdown READMEs



Requirements
Basic computer skills

Description
The following sentence is annoying, but also true:
the best time to learn Git was yesterday
. Fortunately, the second best time is today! Git is an essential tool for work in any code-related field, from data science to game development to machine learning. This course covers everything you need to know to start using Git and Github in the real-world today!
The course's 20+ sections are broken down into four separate units:
Git Essentials
Next Level Git
Github & Collaboration
The Tricky Bits
We start off with
Git Essentials.
The goal of this unit is to give you all the essential Git tools you need for daily use. We start off talking about version control software, what it is, why it matters, and the history of Git. Then we install Git and run through the Unix commands you'll need to work with Git (you can skip this if you're already familiar). The bulk of this unit is focused on teaching the core Git mechanics like
committing
and
branching
and the associated concepts: the working directory, the repository, the staging area, etc. We cover Git commands including: git init, git add, git commit, git status, git log, git branch, and git merge. We end with a detailed look at branching,
merging
, and
resolving conflicts
.
Then we move on to out
Next Level Git
unit, where we cover additional commands and Git concepts that are extremely useful, but maybe not as "core" as the Git Essentials. We start with a comprehensive look at the
gif diff
command and the various comparisons that we can make between commits, branches, the working directory, the staging area, and more! We pay special attention to reading and parsing the dense output generated by diffs. Then we shift our focus to stashing with the
git stash
command, a "convenience command" that many users love incorporating into their Git workflow. Finally, we dive deep into
undoing changes and time traveling
with Git. We learn how to revisit earlier work, detach and re-attach HEAD, and discard changes. We cover git commands that help us undo changes including
git checkout
,
git restore
,
git reset
, and
git revert
.
Next up, we change gears to focus on
Github & Collaboration
. We start by exploring Github (and similar tools) that host remote repositories and discussing the benefits they provide. We create our own Github repositories and sync up changes between our remote and local repositories using the
git push
,
git pull
, and
git fetch
commands. We then focus on commonly used
collaboration workflows
that students may encounter in the real world:
feature branching
,
pull requests
,
forking & cloning
, and more! We discuss
contributing to open source
projects and configuring Github repositories for collaboration. We also spend some time learning about useful Github features including Github
Gists
and
Github Pages
for free static hosting.
The last unit in the course,
The Tricky Bits
, is really just a collection of useful Git command and advanced topics. We start by covering one of the "scarier" Git commands:
rebasing
! We discuss the potential benefits and pitfalls of rebasing and compare it to merging. Then we learn how to clean up our Git history by rewording, editing, dropping, and
squashing
commits using the
interactive rebase
command. Next, we discuss
Git tags
(lightweight and
annotated tags
) semantic versioning and tagging workflows. After that, we move on to a deep dive into the inner workings of Git. We discuss the files and folders Git uses internally, the role of
hashing
functions in Git, and the role of Git objects (
blobs
,
trees
, etc.). Next, we talk about reference logs and the
git reflog
command. Specifically, we learn how we can use reflogs to rescue "lost" commits and
undo rebases
. Finally, we learn how to write custom and powerful
Git aliases
!
Throughout the course, you'll find tons and tons of diagrams and visual references I've created to try and explain Git. The course also includes exercises I've tested on my in-person students, to give you an opportunity to practice the concepts in the course along the way. If you are reading this sentence, I congratulate you on making it this far :) I hope you enjoy the course!
Who this course is for:
Anyone interested in learning Git in any capacity :)
Anyone learning to code or hoping to enter a tech field
Web developers, data scientists, software engineers, mobile developers, game developers, etc.
Anyone who works with code or in a code-adjacent role

More Info