Key Points

Introduction to Version Control


Creating repositories using the web interface


  • You can create, edit, and commit files directly from the GitHub web interface.
  • Good commit messages explain what changed and why.
  • Markdown is a lightweight formatting language used throughout GitHub.

GitHub Issues and Pull Requests


  • Issues are used to track bugs, ideas, and feature requests on a repository.
  • Editing a file you don’t have write access to automatically creates a fork.
  • A pull request proposes your changes back to the original repository, where the owner can review, discuss, and decide whether to accept them.

Making changes with GitHub Desktop


  • GitHub Desktop can clone, commit, and push changes without using the command line.
  • Changes committed locally are not visible on GitHub until they are pushed.
  • A conflict happens when the same lines of a file are changed in two places; Git needs your help to decide which version to keep.

Making changes with VSCode


Hosting websites on GitHub Pages


  • GitHub Pages can turn the contents of a repository into a live website.
  • Enabling Pages triggers a GitHub Actions workflow that builds and deploys the site.
  • The deployed site’s URL follows the pattern https://[your username].github.io/[repository name].