Your First Repository: init, add, commit

Set up who you are

Git stamps every commit with your name and email. Configure them once, globally:

git config --global user.name "Ada Lovelace"
git config --global user.email "ada@example.com"

Create a repository

mkdir myproject && cd myproject
git init

git init creates the hidden .git folder – the repository. Your files are now trackable. Check the state at any time with the command you will run most often:

git status

Stage and commit

Committing is two steps: stage the exact changes you want, then record them.

git add README.md          # stage one file
git add .                  # stage everything changed
git commit -m "Add project README"

Staging lets you craft a commit deliberately – you can change ten files but commit only the three that belong together. A good commit message says why, in the imperative mood: “Add login validation”, not “fixed stuff”.

Ignore files you never want tracked

Build output, dependencies and secrets should not be in history. List them in a .gitignore file at the project root:

node_modules/
target/
.env
*.log

Read the history

git log --oneline --graph    # compact, visual history
git show HEAD                # what the latest commit changed
git diff                     # unstaged changes vs last commit

Key points

• Set your name and email once with git config --global.
• git init starts a repo; git status shows what is staged and what is not.
• Stage with add, record with commit -m; write messages that explain why.
• Use .gitignore to keep build output and secrets out of history.