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Git

version control collaboration tools

What is Git?

Git is a system that records changes to a file or set of files over time so that you can recall specific versions later. It allows multiple people to work together on the same project without overwriting each other’s changes.

Simple Analogy

GitHub is like a magical library where everyone can check out the same book, make their own edits and improvements in personal copies, then submit those changes back to the original author who can decide which improvements to incorporate into the official version, all while keeping a perfect historical record of every edit ever made and who made it.


Every time you reach a good point in your work (like finishing a feature or fixing a bug), you take a “snapshot” (a commit). Git stores these snapshots efficiently.


If you make a mistake, you can easily rewind back to a previous snapshot. If multiple people are working, Git helps merge everyone’s snapshots together intelligently.

Key Concepts

  • Repository (Repo): Think of this as the magical book in our library. It contains all your project files and the entire history of changes.

  • Commit: Like taking a photograph of your edits at a specific moment. Each commit is a snapshot of your book at a certain point in time, with a note about what changes you made.

  • Branch: Imagine creating a temporary alternate version of the book to try out a new chapter or character without changing the original story. You can later merge your alternate version back into the main book if the changes work well.

  • Merge: The process of combining different versions of the book. Like an editor reviewing different contributors’ changes and deciding how to incorporate them all into a cohesive story.

  • Clone: Making your own complete copy of the magical book, with all its history intact. You can take this copy home and work on it independently.

  • Push: Sending your edited copy back to the main library so everyone can see your changes.

  • Pull: Updating your personal copy with all the latest changes others have contributed to the main book in the library.

Example

A team is building a website. One developer works on the login page, another on the home page, and a third on the contact form - all at the same time using different branches.


When they finish their individual features, they merge their changes together. Later, they discover a bug in the login page. Using Git, they can see exactly what changed, when, and by whom, making it easier to fix the problem.