Version control is an essential skill for anyone involved in software development, from solo hobbyists to professional developers working in large teams. Understanding how to effectively manage changes and collaborate on code is critical, and Git is the most widely used version control system in the industry.

We just released a course on the freeCodeCamp.org YouTube channel that is designed for beginners to master the basics of Git. Hitesh Choudhary created this course. Hitesh is a popular instructor with almost 900,000 subscribers on his channel.

Why Learn Git?

Git allows you to track changes in your software projects, collaborate with others, and revert to previous states of your project whenever needed. It's a powerful tool that helps prevent conflicts and miscommunication between team members and preserves the integrity of your projects by ensuring that changes can be audited and reviewed.

Course Overview

This beginner-friendly course covers everything from initial setup to advanced features like rebasing and contributing to open source projects. Here's a brief overview of what the course covers:

  • Introduction to Git: Learn what version control is, why it is important, and how Git fits into the picture.

  • Git Init and Hidden Folder: Start your journey with how to initialize a new Git repository and understand the significance of the hidden .git folder that is created.

  • Git Commits and Logs: Discover how to make commits to save snapshots of your projects, and how to view these snapshots using Git logs.

  • Git Internal Working and Configs: Get a deeper insight into how Git works internally and how to configure Git to enhance your workflow.

  • Git Merge and Git Conflicts: Learn how to merge branches, handle the inevitable conflicts that arise during merges, and best practices for resolving them.

  • Git Diff and Stashing: Understand how to use Git diff to compare different commits, branches, and stashed content, and learn how to stash changes that you aren't ready to commit yet.

  • Git Rebase Is Not That Scary: Overcome the common fears associated with rebasing by learning its fundamentals and when to use rebase instead of merge.

  • Insight of Pushing Code to GitHub: Take your Git skills to the cloud by learning how to push your local repositories to GitHub, enabling you to collaborate with others more effectively.

  • How to Make Pull Request and Open Source Contribution: Step into the world of open source contributions by learning how to fork repositories, make changes, and submit pull requests.

Conclusion

By the end of this course, you will have a solid foundation in managing your software development projects using Git. You’ll be equipped with the skills needed to:

  • Track and revert changes in your projects.

  • Collaborate effectively with other developers.

  • Contribute to open source projects confidently.

Watch the full course on the freeCodeCamp.org YouTube channel (4-hour watch).