toolsGitHub

Introduction

GitHub is a web site where you can store not just your code, but multiple versions of the same code. Additionally, GitHub allows other folks (e.g., your classmates and me) to browse and review your code.

Unlike Glitch, GitHub doesn’t make your code live and interactive—which is why we need to use both. GitHub (or a very similar service) is commonly used by professional web development projects and open source projects, so it’s definitely something you’ll run into again if you decide to work in web development or collaborate with web developers.

Getting Started

Go to the GitHub homepage to sign up.

You do not need to pay for your GitHub account. The free level will work just fine for this purposes of this course.

Want to see detailed screenshots of the sign up process? View this walkthrough on wikiHow.

Installing the App

Git has achieved its massive popularity for many reasons, but the experience of using its command line interface is decidedly not one of them. We won’t be able to avoid it entirely in this course, but most of day-to-day work can take place using the graphical Github Desktop app and I strongly encourage you to give it a shot.

Start by installing the app on your machine and then signing into it using the account you just created, then kick the tires a bit to get a feel for how it works:

• Download the app
• Follow these instructions to authenticate with the site
• Read about how you can use the app to create repositories, push and pull changes, etc.

Once you’re ready to take the plunge, move on to the Glitch & GitHub tutorial and we’ll set up an initial repository(!)