Git for beginners: learn the basics with a GUI, step by step

Git for beginners comes down to five ideas. A repository holds your project and its history, a commit is a saved snapshot of your files, a branch is a separate line of work, a merge joins two branches, and a remote is a copy of the repository on a server such as GitHub. Learn those five and every Git tutorial starts to make sense. A Git GUI helps because it draws them for you: each commit is a dot on a graph and each branch is a coloured line, so you see what is happening instead of picturing it.

This Git tutorial explains each idea in plain words, then walks through a first project in a GUI. The app in the screenshots is GitTree, a free Git client for macOS, Windows and Linux; its maker wrote this guide. Every step also shows the matching command, so what you learn works in the terminal and in any other Git tool.

What is Git? Version control in plain words

Git is a version control system: a program that records every change you save to a set of files, so you can see who changed what and when, compare any two versions and go back to an earlier one. Think of an unlimited undo history for a whole folder, where every saved point has a name and a note explaining why.

The Linux kernel developers, led by Linus Torvalds, created Git in 2005, and it works just as well for websites, documentation or a thesis as for code. Git is distributed: every copy of a repository carries the full history, so you can commit, browse history and create branches offline. You only need the network to share work.

One common mix-up: Git is the tool on your computer, while GitHub, GitLab and Bitbucket are websites that host Git repositories so teams can share them. Our guide to Git vs GitHub explains the difference in detail.

Git basics for beginners: the five ideas to learn first

1. Repository: your project plus its history

A repository (repo) is an ordinary project folder that Git tracks. Git keeps the history in a hidden .git folder inside it. Your files stay normal files: you edit them with any editor, and Git only steps in when you ask it to record or share something.

2. Commit: a saved snapshot with a message

A commit records the state of your files at one moment, together with your name, the date and a short message such as “Add contact form”. Each commit gets a unique ID called a hash (for example a1b2c3d) and points back to the commit before it, which is how Git builds a history you can read, compare and return to.

Before you commit, you stage the changes you want to include. The staging area lets you split work into tidy commits: fix a bug and rename a variable, then commit each change on its own, even when both sit in the same file.

3. Branch: a separate line of work

A branch is a name that points at a commit and moves forward every time you commit on it. Most repositories have a main branch, usually called main (older ones often use master). When you start something new, you create a branch such as feature/contact-page, commit there, and main stays untouched until the work is ready. Branches in Git are cheap: creating one takes an instant, so use them freely.

4. Merge: bringing work back together

A merge adds the commits from one branch to another, for example your feature branch into main. If main has not moved since you branched, Git simply moves it forward (a fast-forward); otherwise it creates a merge commit with two parents. When both sides changed the same lines, Git asks you to choose: a merge conflict. It is routine, and our guide to resolving Git merge conflicts shows how to handle one calmly.

5. Remote: a copy on a server

A remote is another copy of the repository, usually on a hosting service. The one you cloned from is named origin by default. You push to send your new commits to the remote, fetch to download commits others pushed, and pull to fetch and bring those commits into your current branch. Clone copies a remote repository, with its whole history, onto your computer.

Before you start: install Git and set your name

GitTree runs on top of the Git installed on your computer and does not bundle its own, so install Git first (version 2.39 or newer). That is also why every button in GitTree does what the matching command does. On macOS, run xcode-select --install or brew install git. On Windows, install Git for Windows from git-scm.com. On Linux, run sudo apt install git on Ubuntu 24.04 or Debian 12; Ubuntu 22.04 and Linux Mint 21 ship Git 2.34, which is too old, so upgrade Git on Ubuntu first. Then check the version in a terminal:

git --version

Git writes a name and an email into every commit, so set them once. Use the email of your GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket account if you want commits linked to your profile there:

git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "you@example.com"

You can also set them without the terminal: in GitTree’s Preferences, a profile holds a name and email for commits (handy for keeping work and personal identities apart), and each repository can have its own Name for commits and Email for commits.

Step 1: clone or create your first repository

Download GitTree, install it and sign in once with a free GitTree account, which you create on gittree.app with GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket or Azure DevOps. The first launch needs the network; after that the app works offline for up to 7 days between checks. Every new tab opens on the start page, which offers three ways in: Open, Clone and Init.

Clone a repository that already exists

Choose Clone, paste the repository URL (HTTPS or SSH), pick a parent folder and check the Clones into path. Leave Open after cloning ticked and choose Clone. If you have connected a GitHub or Bitbucket account, Clone from GitHub / Bitbucket… lets you pick a repository from a list instead of copying its URL. The command does the same thing:

git clone https://github.com/your-name/your-project.git

Or start a new repository with Init

To put an existing folder under version control, or start from scratch, choose Init. Pick the location, use main as the Initial branch, and optionally add a .gitignore template (so build output and dependencies stay out of Git) and a licence. Nothing is written until you choose Initialize. The command version:

git init -b main

Step 2: stage and commit your first change

Open the project in your editor and change something small: add a line to README.md, for example. Back in GitTree, a // WIP row appears above the newest commit on the graph, and the file shows up under Unstaged Files in the panel on the right.

1. Stage the change. Choose Stage All Changes, or select one file and stage only that. To stage part of a file, open it and use Stage Hunk, or tick single lines and choose Stage Lines. Staged files move to Staged Files.
2. Write a message. Type a short Summary of what the commit does, such as “Add project description to README”. A counter shows how close you are to 72 characters; longer summaries are often cut off in other tools. Add a Description if the reason is not obvious.
3. Commit. Choose Commit Changes to 1 File (the count matches what you staged). The new commit appears at the top of the graph.

The same three steps on the command line:

git status
git add README.md
git commit -m "Add project description to README"

Good habits from day one: one logical change per commit, a summary that says what the commit does (“Fix login redirect”, not “stuff”), and committing often. Small commits are easier to review, explain and undo.

Step 3: create a branch, then merge it

Choose Branch in the toolbar, type a name such as feature/contact-page, make sure Check out the new branch is ticked and choose Create Branch. Make a commit or two the same way as before. The graph now shows your branch label moving ahead of main; when both branches have new commits, each gets its own coloured lane.

git switch -c feature/contact-page

When the work is ready, bring it back into main. Double-click main in the sidebar to check it out, then right-click your feature branch and choose Merge feature/contact-page into main. You can also drag the branch label onto main and pick the merge from the menu. The commands:

git switch main
git merge feature/contact-page

Step 4: push your work to GitHub or another remote

If you cloned the repository, it already has a remote called origin: choose Push in the toolbar. The first push of a new branch also sets its upstream, so later pushes and pulls know where to go. To push every time, open Commit Options and turn on Push After Commit.

A repository you created with Init has no remote yet. Run Publish Repository… from the command palette (⌘+Shift+P on a Mac, Ctrl+Shift+P on Windows and Linux): it creates the repository on your connected GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket or Azure DevOps account, adds it as a remote and pushes the branch. See how to push a project to GitHub without the command line for every step. On the command line, after creating an empty repository on the website:

git remote add origin https://github.com/your-name/your-project.git
git push -u origin main

To get commits your teammates pushed, choose Pull; GitTree also fetches in the background, so new remote commits show on the graph first. If the remote asks who you are, connect your hosting account in GitTree, or generate an SSH key in the app and upload it to GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket.

Git glossary for beginners

Keep this table open while you learn Git. Each row gives a term, what it means and where you find it in GitTree.

How to keep learning Git after your first project

The loop you just practised (edit, stage, commit, push, and a branch for anything bigger than a quick fix) covers most days with Git. When you are ready for more, learn one new idea at a time:

• Read history. Learn to follow lanes, forks and merges with a Git tree visualizer.
• Undo safely. Most mistakes are recoverable; see how to undo a reset, rebase or commit.
• Tidy commits before sharing. An interactive rebase in a GUI lets you squash, reword and reorder commits by dragging them.
• Learn the commands too. GitTree’s built-in terminal sits under the graph, so you can type a command and watch the graph change. Our comparison of a Git GUI and the command line explains when each one wins.

GitTree is free today, private repositories included. See everything it can do, or read the install notes for Mac, Windows and Linux.