Version Control

This tutorial describes the basic usage of git, a version control system to track code changes among yourself and any collaborators. If you run into any difficulties following any of these steps, please post in our class channel (#phys709-fall2024) on Slack. Make sure to complete the GitHub sign up instructions detailed on the Technology page.

Create your own repository

We created our account in prior steps so now we’re ready to actually utilize version control. Git is a version control system that lets you share versions of code remotely with other collaborators (or have a remote version you can save and access from any computer). GitHub is a cloud-based platform that uses Git for storing, managing, and sharing code.

Once logged in you can create a new repository (or git-enabled folder) by clicking the bright green “New” button (you may need to navigate to “Repositories” first). Go ahead and create a new repo called test-repo; you can choose Public or Private depending on who you want to grant viewership. Click to add a README, then click “Create repository”.

You’ll now be on the landing page for your newly created repository. By granting me access (settings/access and “Add people”-> “gavinsdavies”) you will have completed this first basic tutorial.