Setup · Get Ready

Goal

Before we touch a single git command, everyone gets fully set up:

1. Git installed on your laptop
2. A GitHub account
3. Git configured with your identity
4. Your laptop connected to GitHub (HTTPS or SSH)

~15–20 min  ·  do this once and you're set for the whole workshop.

Which terminal do I use?

• macOS / Linux: the built-in Terminal.
• Windows: use Git Bash (it comes with Git — see step 1). All the commands on this site assume Git Bash, so Windows and Mac/Linux students type the same thing.

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1. Is git installed?

Open your terminal and run:

git --version

• You see something like git version 2.40.0 → great, skip to step 2.
• You see command not found → install it using the tab for your system:

Windows macOS Linux

1. Download Git for Windows from git-scm.com/download/win.
2. Run the installer and accept the defaults (they're sensible).
3. This also installs Git Bash — open it and use it as your terminal from now on.

git --version      # run in Git Bash to confirm

The quickest way installs Apple's command-line tools (which include git):

xcode-select --install

Prefer Homebrew? Then:

brew install git

Confirm:

git --version

Use your distribution's package manager:

# Debian / Ubuntu
sudo apt update && sudo apt install git

# Fedora
sudo dnf install git

# Arch
sudo pacman -S git

Confirm:

git --version

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2. Create a GitHub account

Show of hands

Already have a GitHub account? Sign in at github.com and skip straight to step 3. Only make a new one if you don't have one.

1. Go to github.com and click Sign up.
2. Use your university email, pick a username (this is public and professional — anna-particles beats xX_darkmatter_Xx), and set a password.
3. Verify your email (check your inbox for a code).

🎓 Student perk

Apply for the GitHub Student Developer Pack — free private repos, CI minutes, and tools. Do it later; approval can take a day.

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3. Tell git who you are

Git stamps every snapshot with your name and email. Set them once — use the same email you just used for GitHub:

git config --global user.name  "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "you@example.com"

Check it worked:

git config --global --list

output

user.name=Your Name
user.email=you@example.com

Tip

--global means "for all my projects on this laptop." You only do this once, ever.

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4. Connect your laptop to GitHub

To push and pull from a GitHub repo, your laptop has to prove who it is. There are two ways to set that up — you only need one:

	HTTPS	SSH key
Setup now	Nothing to generate	One-time key generation
Each push	Paste a token once, then it's cached	Nothing, ever
Best for	Getting started fast; shared / lab machines	Your own laptop, long term

Which should I pick?

In a hurry? Use HTTPS (Option A) — you can start pushing in about a minute. If this is your personal laptop and you'd like truly passwordless pushes forever, set up an SSH key (Option B). You can always add SSH later; nothing here locks you in.

Option A · HTTPS (quickest)

With HTTPS you use https://… repo URLs and there's nothing to generate. The one wrinkle is the identity/password step:

The HTTPS identity gotcha

On your first push, GitHub asks for a username and password — but it no longer accepts your account password. In the password field you paste a Personal Access Token (PAT) instead. Set it up once and git remembers it.

1 · Create a Personal Access Token

1. GitHub → your avatar → Settings → Developer settings → Personal access tokens → Tokens (classic).
2. Generate new token (classic), add a note like my laptop, set an expiry, and tick the repo scope.
3. Click Generate token and copy it now — you won't see it again. Treat it like a password.

📖 GitHub docs: Creating a personal access token.

2 · Make git remember the token (so you paste it only once) by turning on a credential helper for your system:

Windows (Git Bash) macOS Linux

Nothing to do — Git Credential Manager ships with Git for Windows and stores your token automatically after the first push (it may pop up a browser sign-in window).

git config --global credential.helper osxkeychain

git config --global credential.helper "cache --timeout=3600"   # remembers for 1 hour

For permanent storage instead, install Git Credential Manager.

You'll actually type the token on your first push in Session 2 — enter your username, then paste the token as the password. After that it's silent.

Even easier: the GitHub CLI

Installed gh? Run gh auth login → HTTPS → Login with a web browser. It creates and stores the token for you — no manual PAT needed.

That's all HTTPS needs. You can stop here and move on to Session 1, or set up an SSH key below for passwordless pushes.

Option B · SSH key (passwordless after a one-time setup)

What is an SSH key, and why?

An SSH key is a pair of files: a private key that stays secret on your laptop, and a public key you give to GitHub. Together they let your laptop prove who it is — so you can push and pull without typing anything each time. It's the standard, secure way to talk to GitHub. See GitHub's overview: About SSH.

Generate the key

Run this in your terminal (Windows: Git Bash), using your GitHub email:

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "you@example.com"

• When asked "Enter file in which to save the key" → just press Enter (accept the default ~/.ssh/id_ed25519).
• When asked for a passphrase → you may press Enter for none, or set one for extra security (you'd type it once per session).

📖 GitHub docs: Generating a new SSH key.

Add the key to the ssh-agent

The ssh-agent is a helper that holds your key in memory. Start it and add your key:

Windows (Git Bash) macOS Linux

eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"
ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519

Start the agent:

eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"

Create or edit ~/.ssh/config so macOS remembers the key in your Keychain:

~/.ssh/config

Host github.com
  AddKeysToAgent yes
  UseKeychain yes
  IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519

Then add the key:

ssh-add --apple-use-keychain ~/.ssh/id_ed25519

eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"
ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519

Copy your public key

You'll paste this into GitHub. Copy it with the command for your system:

Windows (Git Bash) macOS Linux

clip < ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

The key is now on your clipboard.

pbcopy < ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

The key is now on your clipboard.

cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

Then select the whole line and copy it (or use xclip -sel clip < ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub if xclip is installed).

Public vs. private — don't mix them up

Only ever share the file ending in .pub (the public key). Never share or paste id_ed25519 (no extension) — that's your private key and must stay secret.

Add the key to your GitHub account

1. On GitHub: click your avatar → Settings → SSH and GPG keys.
2. Click New SSH key.
3. Title: something recognizable, e.g. My laptop.
4. Key type: Authentication Key.
5. Key: paste (Cmd+V / Ctrl+V) the public key you copied.
6. Click Add SSH key.

📖 GitHub docs: Adding a new SSH key to your account.

Test the connection

ssh -T git@github.com

The first time, it asks "Are you sure you want to continue connecting?" → type yes. You should then see:

success

Hi your-username! You've successfully authenticated, but GitHub does not provide shell access.

That "does not provide shell access" part is normal and expected — it means it worked. 🎉

📖 GitHub docs: Testing your SSH connection.

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You're ready

• [x] git --version works
• [x] You can sign in to GitHub
• [x] git config --global --list shows your name and email
• [x] You picked a connection method — HTTPS (token created + credential helper on) or SSH (ssh -T git@github.com greets you by username)

Everyone at this point? Then let's actually learn git.

Start Session 1 · Git