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Git Tutorial (Workflow).md

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Step 1: Get the latest main

  1. Go to your project folder:
cd path/to/your-repo
  1. Confirm you’re in a Git repo and see what’s happening:
git status

git status shows what files changed and which branch you are on.

  1. Switch to main and update it:
git switch main
git pull

git pull fetches changes from the remote and merges them into your current branch.

Step 2: Create a branch for one feature

  1. Create and switch to a new branch (example feature: “Export CSV”):
git switch -c feature/export-csv

GitHub Flow recommends creating a branch for each change so you can work without affecting the default branch.[2][1]

  1. (Optional) Verify you’re on the new branch:
git status

This helps beginners avoid accidentally committing to main.

Step 3: Make changes and commit (save progress)

  1. Edit code as usual, then check what changed:
git status

This shows what Git sees as modified/untracked.

  1. Stage the files you want to include in the next “snapshot”:
git add .

git add prepares changes to be included in the next commit.

  1. Create a commit with a clear message:
git commit -m "Add CSV export for expenses"

A commit records your staged snapshot into the project history.

  1. Repeat steps (edit → add → commit) as you continue, so your feature is built in small checkpoints.

Step 4: Push your branch to GitHub

  1. Push the new branch (first time only, use -u):
git push -u origin feature/export-csv

Git’s cheat sheet shows git push -u origin <name> for pushing a branch you’ve never pushed before.

  1. Next pushes can be just:
git push

Once tracking is set, git push pushes the current branch to its tracking branch.

Step 5: Open a Pull Request (PR)

  1. On GitHub, open a PR from feature/export-csv into main.
  2. A PR is how you propose merging a branch into another branch and keep discussion/review attached to the change.

Step 6: Merge the PR safely

  1. After checks/review, merge the PR so your branch changes appear on main.
  2. GitHub supports multiple merge methods (merge commit / squash / rebase), depending on repo settings and what history style you want.

Step 7: Sync main and clean up

  1. Update your local main after merge:
git switch main
git pull

This ensures your local main matches the merged result on the remote.

  1. Delete the local feature branch (only after it’s merged):
git branch -d feature/export-csv

This keeps your local branch list clean.

Step 8: (Recommended) Tag your demo version

When main reaches “demo-ready”, add a tag so you can always return to the exact demo code:

git tag v0.1.0-demo
git push origin v0.1.0-demo

Git can push tags to the remote so teammates/CI can reference the same demo build.