Git is a distributed version control system that tracks changes in source code during software development. It allows multiple developers to work on the same project simultaneously while maintaining a complete history of all changes.

Key Features

  • Distributed Architecture: Every developer has a complete copy of the project history
  • Branching & Merging: Create parallel development branches and merge changes seamlessly
  • Data Integrity: Uses SHA-1 hashing to ensure data integrity
  • Speed: Most operations are performed locally for fast performance
  • Staging Area: Review changes before committing them

Essential Git Commands

# Initialize a new Git repository
git init

# Clone an existing repository
git clone https://github.com/user/repo.git

# Check repository status
git status

# Add files to staging area
git add filename.txt
git add .  # Add all files

# Commit changes
git commit -m "Your commit message"

# Push changes to remote repository
git push origin main

# Pull latest changes
git pull origin main

# Create and switch to new branch
git checkout -b feature-branch

# Merge branch
git merge feature-branch

Git Workflow

Basic Git Workflow:

  1. Modify files in your working directory
  2. Stage changes using git add
  3. Commit changes using git commit
  4. Push changes to remote repository using git push

Career Impact

95%
of developers use Git
$85K+
Average salary boost
100M+
GitHub repositories

Git proficiency is essential for any software development role. It's used by virtually every tech company and is a fundamental skill for collaboration in development teams.