GitHub Tutorial for Beginners 2026: Your First Repository and Pull Request

# Install Git
# macOS: brew install git
# Ubuntu: sudo apt install git
# Windows: git-scm.com/download/win

git --version  # verify

# Configure identity (required for commits)
git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "you@example.com"

# Create GitHub account at github.com (free)
# Set up SSH key (recommended over HTTPS)
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "you@example.com"
cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub  # copy this to GitHub Settings → SSH Keys

# Create a new repository on GitHub, then:
git clone git@github.com:yourusername/your-repo.git
cd your-repo

# Make changes, then commit
git add .                    # stage all changes
git add specific-file.py     # stage specific file
git commit -m "feat: add user login"
git push origin main         # push to GitHub

# See what changed
git status                   # what's staged/unstaged
git diff                     # what changed (unstaged)
git log --oneline            # commit history

# Undo mistakes
git restore file.py          # undo unstaged changes
git restore --staged file.py # unstage
git reset HEAD~1 --mixed     # undo last commit (keep changes)

# Create feature branch
git checkout -b feature/user-auth
# Make changes...
git add . && git commit -m "feat: add JWT authentication"
git push origin feature/user-auth

# Open Pull Request on GitHub:
# 1. Go to your repo on github.com
# 2. Click "Compare & pull request"
# 3. Add description, request reviewers
# 4. Merge when approved

# After PR merged, update local main
git checkout main
git pull origin main
git branch -d feature/user-auth  # delete local branch

# Fork a project on GitHub, then:
git clone git@github.com:YOURUSERNAME/forked-repo.git
cd forked-repo

# Add original repo as upstream
git remote add upstream git@github.com:ORIGINAL/repo.git

# Create branch, make changes, push
git checkout -b fix/typo-in-readme
# make your changes...
git add . && git commit -m "fix: correct typo in README"
git push origin fix/typo-in-readme

# Open PR on GitHub from your fork to original repo
# Be descriptive: what changed and why