Getting started with Git

Getting started

If you’re relatively new to Git, have never heard of Git, or just want a refresher on the basics, then the first thing to do is to follow the Bristol RSE workshop on Introducing Git.

This course assumes you have no prior knowledge of Git and starts right from installing and configuring Git. It is designed to be covered at a reasonably quick pace in a 3 hour workshop, however, this is certainly not enough time to properly explore and experiment with Git to build familiarity. Therefore, it is likely to take about a day to get through at your own pace. While the basic commands can be learned in a day, it will likely take several days/weeks of regular usage to become confident.

While Git can take a fair bit of practice to feel fully comfortable with, the day-to-day tasks are fairly simple; there are really only ~6-7 commands that will be used on a regular basis.

If you have any questions, no matter how trivial it may seem, please contact the Ask-RSE mailbox (ask-rse@bristol.ac.uk).

Optional Pre-requisite

Note that Git is commonly used as a command line tool, and so it helps (though is not necessary) to have a basic understanding of the Command Line Interface (CLI). The Bristol RSE team also provide a workshop introducing the CLI for unix (i.e linux and mac) machines here.

For Windows users: It is worth noting that ‘Git Bash’, which is what you will likely start off using if you download from the git website (links in the Introducing Git course), is a unix-like terminal and so the previous workshop will likely still be helpful.

Although commonly used in the CLI, Git definitely benefits from the use of a Graphical User Interface, for which there are many. Choice of GUI is a personal preference; find which works for you. If you are completely new to Git then GitHub Desktop is a safe option.

Next Steps

Once you are more comfortable using Git for the day-to-day tasks of tracking changes through commits, it is helpful to learn how to use Git in a collaborative manner, using services such as GitHub and GitLab.

This is covered in the Bristol RSE workshop Git for Collaboration which assumes that you have completed the Introducing Git workshop from above. The course focusses on branching, pulling, cloning, and all the skills necessary to work with someone else on code.

This workshop is also designed to be taught at a reasonably quick pace in a 3 hour workshop. Note that the pace is fast so as to cover as much ground as possible, but it will definitely take longer to go through at your own pace.

Support

The Bristol RSE group provide free training to UoB Staff and Postgrads on Git roughly once per term. Please visit the training schedule to find out when the next course is and sign up.

If you have other questions in the meantime, no matter how trivial it may seem, please contact the Ask-RSE mailbox (ask-rse@bristol.ac.uk).

Finally, the best way to learn Git is to experiment for yourself. Go and have a try.