Install on your device (macOS, Linux, Windows)
Git is required for version control practice in this track.
macOS
xcode-select --installincludes Git, orbrew install git.
Linux
sudo apt install -y gitorsudo dnf install -y git
Windows
- Git for Windows (
winget install Git.Git)—use Git Bash or PowerShell.
Verify: git --version
Git is distributed version control: every clone is a full history, and you commit snapshots locally before sharing with remotes like GitHub.
Core vocabulary
- Repository — project folder tracked by Git.
- Commit — named snapshot with parent pointer(s).
- Branch — movable pointer to a line of work.
- Remote — another copy’s URL (usually
origin).
First commands
git init
git status
git add .
git commit -m "Initial commit"Practice in an empty folder on your machine—see the install section above for Git on macOS, Linux, and Windows.
Self-check
- What is stored in a commit besides file contents?
- Why is Git distributed?
Interview prep
- Why do teams use Git instead of emailing ZIP files of source code?
Git stores a structured history (commits and parents), supports branches and merges, and plugs into review and CI. ZIPs duplicate effort, hide authorship, and do not model parallel work.
- What is a commit, in one sentence?
A commit is an immutable snapshot of the repository tree, linked to its parent commit(s), with a message and metadata, identified by a cryptographic hash.