GitHub Ultimate Guide

GitHub isn't just a website—it's where the world builds software. Over 100 million developers use it. Every major open-source project lives there. And if you want to work in tech, you need to understand it fluently.

But first, let's clear up the confusion everyone has at the start: Git and GitHub are not the same thing.

Think of Git as the engine and GitHub as the garage where you park your car so others can see it. Git does the version control locally. GitHub stores it in the cloud and adds collaboration features on top.

Before touching any commands, you need to understand six concepts. These are the building blocks of everything in Git and GitHub.

my-project/
├── .git/          <-- Git's brain (don't touch)
├── src/
│   └── app.js
├── README.md
└── package.json

commit a1b2c3d
Author: you
Date: Jan 21, 2026

    Add login functionality

main:     A---B---C---F
               \     /
feature:        D---E

git checkout main
git merge feature
# feature's changes now in main

original/repo  →  your-username/repo
(read only)       (full control)

Let's get you from zero to your first push. This takes about 15 minutes and you'll have a working GitHub setup for life.

These are the commands you'll use 90% of the time. Master these and you're set for most development work.

$ git status
On branch main
Changes not staged for commit:
  modified:   src/app.js
Untracked files:
  src/utils.js

$ git add src/app.js      # Stage one file
$ git add .               # Stage all changes
$ git add src/            # Stage a folder

$ git commit -m "Add login validation"
$ git commit -am "Fix typo"  # add + commit

$ git push                   # Push current branch
$ git push -u origin main    # First push sets upstream

$ git pull                   # Get latest changes
$ git pull origin main       # Pull specific branch

$ git branch               # List branches
$ git branch feature-login # Create branch
$ git branch -d old-branch # Delete branch

$ git switch main           # Switch to main
$ git switch -c new-feature # Create and switch
$ git checkout feature-x    # Old way (still works)

$ git switch main          # Go to main
$ git merge feature-login  # Merge feature into main

$ git log --oneline        # Compact view
$ git log -5                # Last 5 commits
$ git log --graph           # Visual branch tree

$ git diff                 # Unstaged changes
$ git diff --staged        # Staged changes
$ git diff main feature    # Between branches

Working with others is where Git and GitHub really shine. This section covers the workflows that teams use to build software together.

Once you're comfortable with the basics, these features will level up your Git and GitHub game.

name: Run Tests
on: [push, pull_request]
jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - run: npm install
      - run: npm test

$ brew install gh           # Install
$ gh auth login             # Authenticate
$ gh pr create              # Create PR
$ gh pr checkout 123        # Checkout a PR
$ gh issue list             # View issues

# Dependencies
node_modules/

# Environment
.env
.env.local

# Build output
dist/
build/

# OS files
.DS_Store
Thumbs.db