Git is a version control system (VCS), in a nutshell, git kind of works like the save functionality in a Microsoft Word document, except git is on steroids. Unlike your regular word document which only keeps a single version of your document (the one which you saved), git keeps the entire history of saves you made to your document/project. And better yet, git allows you to move around in that history like you’re a time traveler (if you ever need to be), without much complication. The real benefit to using git however, comes with the fact that it allows you to collaborate efficiently with other people/maintainers/contributors, even though you aren’t working at the same time, in the same place, or maybe don’t even have access to the internet. Before I get ahead of myself, what is a VCS (version control system)?
Version control systems are software tools that help software teams manage changes to source code over time. Version control software keeps track of every modification to the code in a special kind of database. If a mistake is made, developers can turn back the clock and compare earlier versions of the code to help fix the mistake while minimizing disruption to all team members.
- Atlassian
So onto the nitty-gritty and let’s learn some basic git functionality to get you started.