Git Quick Start

This chapter will let you experience Git's basic features in 5 minutes through a simple example, helping you quickly understand how Git works.

Preparation

Make sure you have:

✅ Installed Git
✅ Configured username and email
✅ Have a usable terminal or command line

Your First Git Repository

1. Create Project Folder

bash

# Create a new project folder
mkdir my-first-git-project
cd my-first-git-project

2. Initialize Git Repository

bash

# Initialize Git repository
git init

# You will see output similar to:
# Initialized empty Git repository in /path/to/my-first-git-project/.git/

🎉 Congratulations! You just created your first Git repository.

3. View Repository Status

bash

# View current repository status
git status

Output similar to:

On branch main

No commits yet

nothing to commit (create/copy files and use "git add" to track)

Creating and Tracking Files

1. Create First File

bash

# Create a simple text file
echo "# My First Git Project" > README.md
echo "This is a practice project to learn Git." >> README.md

2. View Status Changes

bash

git status

Output:

On branch main

No commits yet

Untracked files:
  (use "git add <file>..." to include in what will be committed)
        README.md

nothing added to commit but untracked files present (use "git add" to track)

📝 Explanation: Git discovered a new file README.md but hasn't started tracking it yet.

3. Add File to Staging Area

bash

# Add file to staging area
git add README.md

# View status again
git status

Output:

On branch main

No commits yet

Changes to be committed:
  (use "git rm --cached <file>..." to unstage)
        new file:   README.md

✨ Explanation: The file is now in the staging area, ready to be committed.

First Commit

1. Create Commit

bash

# Create first commit
git commit -m "Add README file"

Output:

[main (root-commit) a1b2c3d] Add README file
 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+)
 create mode 100644 README.md

🎊 Congratulations: You completed your first commit!

2. View Commit History

bash

# View commit history
git log

Output:

commit a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9j0k1l2m3n4o5p6q7r8s9t0 (HEAD -> main)
Author: Your Name <your.email@example.com>
Date:   Mon Jan 1 12:00:00 2024 +0800

    Add README file

Modifying and Updating Files

1. Modify File

bash

# Add more content to the file
echo "" >> README.md
echo "## Learning Content" >> README.md
echo "- Git basic operations" >> README.md
echo "- Version control concepts" >> README.md

2. View Modifications

bash

# View file status
git status

Output:

On branch main
Changes not staged for commit:
  (use "git add <file>..." to update what will be committed)
  (use "git restore <file>..." to discard changes in working directory)
        modified:   README.md

no changes added to commit (use "git add" or "git commit -a")

bash

# View specific modification content
git diff

Output:

diff

diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 1234567..abcdefg 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,2 +1,5 @@
 # My First Git Project
 This is a practice project to learn Git.
+
+## Learning Content
+- Git basic operations
+- Version control concepts

3. Commit Modifications

bash

# Add modifications to staging area
git add README.md

# Commit modifications
git commit -m "Add learning content list"

Viewing Project History

1. View Commit History

bash

# View detailed history
git log

# View concise history
git log --oneline

Concise output:

b2c3d4e Add learning content list
a1b2c3d Add README file

2. View File Changes

bash

# View differences between two commits
git diff a1b2c3d b2c3d4e

# View specific commit content
git show b2c3d4e

Creating More Files

Let's create a more complex project structure:

1. Create Code File

bash

# Create a simple Python script
cat > hello.py << EOF
#!/usr/bin/env python3
# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-

def main():
    print("Hello, Git!")
    print("This is my first Git project")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()
EOF

2. Create Configuration File

bash

# Create .gitignore file
cat > .gitignore << EOF
# Python
__pycache__/
*.pyc
*.pyo
*.pyd
.Python

# Editors
.vscode/
.idea/
*.swp
*.swo

# System files
.DS_Store
Thumbs.db
EOF

3. Add Multiple Files at Once

bash

# View current status
git status

# Add all new files
git add .

# View staging area status
git status

# Commit all modifications
git commit -m "Add Python script and .gitignore file"

Basic Branch Operations

1. View Branches

bash

# View current branch
git branch

# Output:
# * main

2. Create New Branch

bash

# Create and switch to new branch
git checkout -b feature/add-greeting

# Or use new syntax (Git 2.23+)
# git switch -c feature/add-greeting

3. Work on New Branch

bash

# Modify Python file
cat > hello.py << EOF
#!/usr/bin/env python3
# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-

def greet(name):
    return f"Hello, {name}!"

def main():
    name = input("Please enter your name: ")
    greeting = greet(name)
    print(greeting)
    print("Welcome to the world of Git!")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()
EOF

# Commit modifications
git add hello.py
git commit -m "Add interactive greeting feature"

4. Switch Back to Main Branch

bash

# Switch back to main branch
git checkout main

# View file content (you'll find it's the old version)
cat hello.py

5. Merge Branch

bash

# Merge feature branch to main
git merge feature/add-greeting

# View file after merge
cat hello.py

# Delete merged branch
git branch -d feature/add-greeting

Remote Repository Experience

1. Connect to GitHub (Optional)

If you have a GitHub account, you can experience remote repositories:

bash

# Create a new repository on GitHub (via web)
# Then add remote repository
git remote add origin https://github.com/yourusername/my-first-git-project.git

# Push to remote repository
git push -u origin main

2. Simulate Collaboration (Local)

bash

# Create a "collaborator" clone
cd ..
git clone my-first-git-project collaborator-project
cd collaborator-project

# Simulate collaborator's modifications
echo "- Branch management" >> README.md
git add README.md
git commit -m "Collaborator adds: Branch management learning content"

# Return to original project
cd ../my-first-git-project

# Simulate pulling updates from remote
git pull ../collaborator-project main

Practical Tips Demonstration

1. View Beautified Log

bash

# View beautified log using alias (if configured earlier)
git lg

# Or use complete command directly
git log --graph --pretty=format:'%Cred%h%Creset -%C(yellow)%d%Creset %s %Cgreen(%cr) %C(bold blue)<%an>%Creset' --abbrev-commit

2. Undo Operation Demonstration

bash

# Create a wrong modification
echo "This is a wrong modification" >> README.md

# View status
git status

# Undo working directory modifications
git restore README.md

# Or use old syntax
# git checkout -- README.md

3. Staging Area Operations

bash

# Modify file
echo "Temporary modification" >> hello.py

# Add to staging area
git add hello.py

# Remove from staging area (but keep working directory modifications)
git restore --staged hello.py

# View status
git status

Project Summary

Let's see what we've accomplished:

bash

# View final project structure
ls -la

# View complete commit history
git log --oneline --graph --all

# View project statistics
git log --stat

Your project should now contain:

📄 README.md - Project description file
🐍 hello.py - Python script
🚫 .gitignore - Git ignore file
📁 .git/ - Git repository data (hidden folder)

Quick Reference Card

Basic Command Cheat Sheet

bash

# Repository operations
git init                    # Initialize repository
git clone <url>            # Clone repository
git status                 # View status

# File operations
git add <file>             # Add file to staging area
git add .                  # Add all files
git commit -m "message"    # Commit modifications
git diff                   # View modifications

# History viewing
git log                    # View commit history
git log --oneline         # Concise history
git show <commit>         # View specific commit

# Branch operations
git branch                # View branches
git checkout -b <branch>  # Create and switch branch
git merge <branch>        # Merge branch
git branch -d <branch>    # Delete branch

Git Workflow Diagram

Working Directory
    ↓ git add
Staging Area
    ↓ git commit
Local Repository
    ↓ git push
Remote Repository

Next Steps

Through this quick start tutorial, you have experienced:

✅ Creating and initializing Git repositories
✅ Adding and committing files
✅ Viewing history and status
✅ Basic branch operations
✅ File modifications and undoing

In the following chapters, we will learn in depth:

Git workflow principles
Concepts of working directory, staging area, and repository
More branch management techniques
Remote repository collaboration
Advanced Git operations

Practice Suggestions

Repeat operations: Practice basic add, commit workflow multiple times
Experiment with branches: Create more branches and try different merge scenarios
View history: Use different git log parameters to view history
Make intentional mistakes: Try various undo operations and learn to fix errors

Remember: Git is a very safe system, most operations can be undone, so don't be afraid to experiment!

Git Quick Start ​

Preparation ​

Your First Git Repository ​

1. Create Project Folder ​

2. Initialize Git Repository ​

3. View Repository Status ​

Creating and Tracking Files ​

1. Create First File ​

2. View Status Changes ​

3. Add File to Staging Area ​

First Commit ​

1. Create Commit ​

2. View Commit History ​

Modifying and Updating Files ​

1. Modify File ​

2. View Modifications ​

3. Commit Modifications ​

Viewing Project History ​

1. View Commit History ​

2. View File Changes ​

Creating More Files ​

1. Create Code File ​

2. Create Configuration File ​

3. Add Multiple Files at Once ​

Basic Branch Operations ​

1. View Branches ​

2. Create New Branch ​

3. Work on New Branch ​

4. Switch Back to Main Branch ​

5. Merge Branch ​

Remote Repository Experience ​

1. Connect to GitHub (Optional) ​

2. Simulate Collaboration (Local) ​

Practical Tips Demonstration ​

1. View Beautified Log ​

2. Undo Operation Demonstration ​

3. Staging Area Operations ​

Project Summary ​

Quick Reference Card ​

Basic Command Cheat Sheet ​

Git Workflow Diagram ​

Next Steps ​

Practice Suggestions ​

Git Quick Start

Preparation

Your First Git Repository

1. Create Project Folder

2. Initialize Git Repository

3. View Repository Status

Creating and Tracking Files

1. Create First File

2. View Status Changes

3. Add File to Staging Area

First Commit

1. Create Commit

2. View Commit History

Modifying and Updating Files

1. Modify File

2. View Modifications

3. Commit Modifications

Viewing Project History

1. View Commit History

2. View File Changes

Creating More Files

1. Create Code File

2. Create Configuration File

3. Add Multiple Files at Once

Basic Branch Operations

1. View Branches

2. Create New Branch

3. Work on New Branch

4. Switch Back to Main Branch

5. Merge Branch

Remote Repository Experience

1. Connect to GitHub (Optional)

2. Simulate Collaboration (Local)

Practical Tips Demonstration

1. View Beautified Log

2. Undo Operation Demonstration

3. Staging Area Operations

Project Summary

Quick Reference Card

Basic Command Cheat Sheet

Git Workflow Diagram

Next Steps

Practice Suggestions