Learning git basics

Learning Git in the Terminal

The first thing I wanted to learn was how to do my daily workflow — the stuff I usually relied on VSCode integrations for — directly in the terminal.

Nothing fancy.

Just:

• stage changes
• commit them
• push to the repo

That’s it. The absolute basics.

Turns out this wasn’t some arcane ritual. It was a quick search, and everything clicked.

What I Realized About Git

One thing that surprised me:

Git doesn’t actually “handle” your files.

It just keeps track of what changed.

Think of Git as a diary for your project. It doesn’t rewrite anything; it just asks you to explain what you did, so you can look back later and understand it.

Your explanation? The commit message.

The Command That Saves You Every Time

If something looks broken or weird:

git status

This is like asking your diary:

“Show me what I changed since my last entry.”

It tells you:

• Which files are new, modified, or deleted
• Which changes are ready to be saved
• Which changes aren’t being tracked yet

Example for non-coders:
Imagine you’re writing a report. git status tells you which pages you’ve written, which pages are still drafts, and which pages you haven’t even touched yet.

Stop Writing Garbage Commit Messages

Commit messages are your way of explaining changes. Don’t just write:

• "lul"
• "stuff changed"
• "fix"

Instead, say what exactly changed:

git commit -m "your meaningful message here"

Non-coder example:
You’re keeping a cooking journal. Instead of “changed recipe,” write “added garlic and reduced salt.” Later, you’ll thank yourself.

The Basic Commands I Use Daily

Stage changes

git add <file-or-folder>

What it does:
Tells Git, “I want to include this file in my next snapshot.”

Example:

git add report.docx

Means: “Include the updated report.docx in my next commit.”

Commit with a message

git commit -m "your meaningful message here"

What it does:
Saves a snapshot of the files you staged. Think of it as saying, “This is how my project looks now.”

Example:

git commit -m "Added introduction to report"

You’ve now officially recorded that your report got a new introduction.

Push to remote repository

git push

What it does:
Uploads your changes to GitHub (or another online storage).

Non-coder example:
Imagine you’ve written your diary locally and now you’re sending a copy to a cloud folder so others can see it or so you can access it anywhere.

Two Other Essentials

Check current status

git status

Always run this if you feel lost. It’s your project’s “current state” report.

Initialize a new repository

git init

What it does:
Starts tracking a new project. Git will create a hidden folder to keep all your version history.

Non-coder example:
You bought a new diary. git init is like opening the first blank page and writing the date at the top.

Final Thoughts

From now on I’m ditching the comfy UI buttons and doing the basics straight from the terminal.

It’s:

• faster
• clearer
• more reliable
• and feels like “real work”

Once you understand what Git is actually doing, the fear disappears. It’s not complicated. It’s just picky.

Next step: branching and rebasing.

Hopefully, by then, my diary analogy will still hold up.