Install Git on your computer and configure your name and email.

Git

Git is free open source software (the source code is public) written by Linus Torvalds who also wrote the Linux operating system.

Git is a program for keeping track of changes over time, known in programming as version control. If you've used a track changes feature in a text editing software then you're already familiar with the concept!

Install Git

We recommend installing Git on your computer by downloading the GitHub Desktop app. We'll not use the desktop app in Git-it (we're learning terminal!) but it includes Git and is the easiest way to install Git on all platforms in the same way.

  • Windows: Use the Git Shell for your terminal.
  • Mac: Open GitHub Desktop and from Preferences, select the command line tools install. Use the terminal app as your terminal.

Already have Git or not sure? Type git --version in your terminal and if it returns a version number higher than 1.7.10, you're set! For more information, visit the Git website.

Git Software

The GitHub Desktop app can do a lot of things with Git but not all, which is why learning the terminal is important. But once you've got that down, you'll be glad to have the desktop app because it organizes your project's information more visually, like the GitHub website.

Git on its own isn't like other programs on your computer. You'll likely not see an icon on your desktop, but it will always be available to you and you'll be able to access it at anytime from your terminal or Git desktop applications.

Configure Git

Once GitHub Desktop (and therefore Git) is installed, open your terminal. You can verify that Git really there by typing:

git --version

This will return the version of Git on your computer and look something like this:

git version 1.9.1

Next, configure Git so it knows to associate your work to you:

Set your name:

git config --global user.name "Your Name"

Now set your email:

git config --global user.email "youremail@example.com"

You're done with your first challenge! Click the 'Verify' button to check the challenge.

Dollar Signs in Code Documentation

Dollar signs $ are often used in programming documentation to signify that the line is command line code (see the code snippets above). You don't actually type the $ in though, only type what comes after.