Getting Started with GitHub

Why GitHub?

As a Communication Liaison, you’ll work with data and research projects that require collaboration and version control. GitHub is the industry standard for managing code, sharing research, and collaborating with teams. This guide walks you through creating your GitHub account and getting comfortable with the basics.

5-step fast path (10–15 minutes): 1. Create your GitHub account at github.com and verify email 2. Set a clear username + add a profile photo and short bio 3. Create a public repo initialized with a README (e.g., hello-world) 4. Install Git and clone the repo to your computer 5. Edit README, commit, and push back to GitHub

Step 1: Create Your GitHub Account

1.1 Go to GitHub

Open your web browser and navigate to github.com. You’ll see the GitHub homepage with a signup form.

1.2 Sign Up

Click the “Sign up” button (or the email field) and enter:

  • Email address: Use your SIUE email or personal email (you can change this later)
  • Password: Create a strong password (mix of uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and symbols)
  • Username: Choose a professional username that you’d be comfortable using in a job application
    • Tip: Avoid numbers or special characters if possible; keep it simple and memorable
    • Example: alex-leith or apleith works better than leith1993 or alex_code_master

1.3 Verify Your Email

GitHub will send you a verification email. Check your inbox, open the email from GitHub, and click the verification link. This confirms your account.

1.4 Complete Your Profile

After verification, GitHub will ask you setup questions:

  • Would you like to receive product updates and announcements via email? → Your choice
  • How many people are in your team? → Select “Just me”
  • What are you most interested in? → Select options relevant to you (data, journalism, communication, etc.)

Step 2: Set Up Your GitHub Profile

2.1 Add a Profile Picture

Click your profile icon (top right corner) → Settings → Profile picture

Add a professional headshot or avatar. This helps collaborators recognize you and makes your profile more personal.

2.2 Fill Out Your Profile

In Settings, complete these fields:

Field What to Enter
Bio Brief description: e.g., “Mass Communications student
Company SIUE or your workplace
Location Your city or “Edwardsville, IL”
Website (Optional) Your personal website or portfolio

Example Bio:

Communication Liaison | Mass Communications @ SIUE
Exploring research methodologies and data storytelling

2.3 Make Your Profile Public

In Settings → Visibility, ensure: - ☑️ Make my profile public (this allows others to see your work and contributions) - ☑️ Include private contributions in my contribution graph (shows your activity)

Step 3: Understand GitHub’s Key Features

Repositories (Repos)

A repository is a folder that stores your project files, code, and documentation. Think of it as a project folder in the cloud that tracks all changes over time.

Creating a Test Repository

Let’s create your first repository to get comfortable:

  1. Click the “+” icon (top right) → New repository
  2. Repository name: hello-world or my-first-repo
  3. Description: “My first GitHub repository”
  4. Public or Private? → Select Public (this is important for sharing your work)
  5. ☑️ Initialize with README (this creates a welcome file)
  6. Click Create repository

The README File

Every repository should have a README.md file. This is like a cover page that explains: - What the project is about - How to use it - Who created it

When you visit a repository on GitHub, the README appears automatically below the file list.

Step 4: Clone a Repository (Get It on Your Computer)

4.1 Install Git

To work with repositories on your computer, you need Git (the tool GitHub uses).

Windows:

  1. Download Git from git-scm.com
  2. Run the installer and accept the default options. It asks a lot of questions and Next is the right answer to all of them.
  3. Quit VS Code completely and reopen it. Not just the terminal, and not Reload Window: VS Code reads your PATH once when it starts, so anything installed while it was running stays invisible to it until the program itself restarts.
  4. Open a terminal in VS Code (Terminal, New Terminal) and run git --version to confirm.

Mac: there is nothing to download.

  1. Open Terminal and run git --version.
  2. If a box appears offering to install the command line developer tools, click Install and wait for it to finish. That box is Git arriving.
  3. Run git --version again. You should see a version number.
  4. Quit VS Code completely with Cmd+Q and reopen it. Closing the window is not enough on a Mac, and VS Code will not see Git until the program itself restarts.

You do not need Homebrew for this. If you have seen brew install git suggested elsewhere, ignore it: Homebrew is a separate thing you would have to install first, and macOS gives you Git without it.

Linux: Open Terminal and run:

sudo apt-get install git

4.2 Tell Git Who You Are

Git stamps every commit with a name and an email address, and it refuses to commit until it knows them. Run these two commands once, in the same terminal:

git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "you@siue.edu"

Use an address that is attached to your GitHub account, either the one you signed up with or one you added under Settings, Emails. A commit made with any other address still saves, but GitHub cannot match it to your profile, so your work shows up under a stranger’s name. That matters in this course, because your repository is how your work is read and graded.

--global means once per computer, not once per repository. To see what Git already has, run git config --global --list.

If you skip this step, your first commit stops with Author identity unknown and Please tell me who you are. That message is not about your GitHub password or your login. It means these two commands have not been run yet. Run them, then commit again.

4.3 Clone Your First Repository

  1. Go to your hello-world repository on GitHub

  2. Click the green “Code” button

  3. Copy the HTTPS URL (should look like https://github.com/yourusername/hello-world.git)

  4. Open Terminal (Mac/Linux) or PowerShell (Windows)

  5. Navigate to where you want to store your repository:

    cd Documents

  6. Clone the repository:

    git clone https://github.com/yourusername/hello-world.git

  7. Enter the repository folder:

    cd hello-world

Congratulations! You now have a copy of your repository on your computer.

Step 5: Make Your First Commit

5.1 Edit Your README

  1. Open the folder hello-world on your computer
  2. Find the file README.md and open it in a text editor (Notepad, VS Code, etc.)
  3. Add some content:
# Hello World

This is my first GitHub repository.

## About Me
- I'm a Communication Liaison
- I'm learning research methods
- I'm excited to collaborate

## Goals
- Master data analysis
- Tell stories with data
- Connect technical and creative teams
  1. Save the file

5.2 Push Changes to GitHub

Back in Terminal/PowerShell, run these commands:

# Stage your changes (tell Git which files to save)
git add README.md

# Commit your changes (save them locally with a message)
git commit -m "Update README with introduction"

# Push changes to GitHub (send them to the website)
git push

Go back to GitHub.com, refresh your hello-world repository page, and you’ll see your updated README!

Step 6: GitHub Vocabulary & Key Concepts

Term Meaning
Repository (Repo) A folder that stores your project and its history
Commit A saved version of your work with a message describing what changed
Push Send your local changes to GitHub
Pull Download changes from GitHub to your computer
Branch A separate version of your project (useful for testing new ideas)
Issue A task, bug, or discussion for a project
Pull Request (PR) A proposal to add changes from one branch to another
Fork Create your own copy of someone else’s repository

Step 7: Best Practices

1. Use Clear Commit Messages

Bad: “Update stuff” or “Fix”
Good: “Add data analysis section to README” or “Fix typo in methods section”

2. Commit Often

Make commits when you complete a logical task, not just once per day.

3. Keep Your README Updated

Your README is the first impression. Keep it current and clear.

4. Make It Public

For this course, make your repository public so I can see your work. You can always make it private later for sensitive projects.

5. Use Meaningful Repository Names

Bad: project or stuff
Good: mc451-research-analysis or data-storytelling-project

Step 8: Troubleshooting

“Permission denied” Error

If you see Permission denied (publickey), you need to set up SSH authentication. For now, use HTTPS (which you’re already doing). Later, GitHub has tutorials to set up SSH if needed.

Changes Not Appearing on GitHub

Make sure you: 1. ✅ Used git add to stage files 2. ✅ Used git commit -m "message" to commit 3. ✅ Used git push to push to GitHub

All three steps are necessary!

How to Undo a Commit

If you made a mistake, run:

git log  # See your commit history
git revert HEAD  # Undo the last commit

Next Steps

  1. Create your GitHub account using this guide
  2. Apply for GitHub Student Benefits (Step 9)
  3. Create your profile README (Step 2.5)
  4. Create your hello-world repository
  5. Edit the README and push changes
  6. Share your GitHub profile URL (format: github.com/yourusername) with me
  7. Explore other repositories and see how others organize their work

Resources

Questions?

If you get stuck, check the GitHub Docs, try a Google search with your specific error message, or come to office hours. We’ll work through it together!