/Wiki-commIT

instructions on how to do things on GutHub

Wiki

instructions on how to do things on GitHub

How to contribute code to a project

To contribute your code to a group project, you need to clone a repo first to your local machine. It's also possible to work in GitHub Codespaces (online). After cloning, you either select a specific development branch, or create a new one. Rules for naming branches will be here. (at some point)

tl;dr

  1. Clone
  2. Branch
  3. Code
  4. Pull request
  5. Code review
  6. Merge

How to clone a project

1. Go to the project page

e.g. this one. You can use this demo repository to test things out.

2. Click on the <>code button

3. From the dropdown menu select one of the options:

  • a. copy the command, paste into command line, execute
  • b. open with GitHub Desktop
  • c. Download ZIP file.

Choose the option that works best for you.

4. Select a local folder to store the cloned project

5. Done!

How to create a branch: GitHub, option 1 (not recommended)

Branching can be done in a number of ways. Here is an example how to do it from the level of a GitHub repo. Option 1.

1. Go to the project page

e.g. this one. You can use this demo repository to test things out.

2. Click on the tab with the main branch name.

It opens up a dialog that allows you to switch to other existing branches, but also allows to create a new one. This option offers less control in regards to the branching point.

3. Enter a name for a branch in the textbox

4. Click on "create branch: [name]".

How to create a branch: GitHub, option 2 (recommended)

Branching can be done in a number of ways. Here is an example how to do it from the level of a GitHub repo. Option 2.

1. Go to the project page

e.g. this one. You can use this demo repository to test things out.

2. Click on the branch icon (second tile).

3. New screen opens up. It looks like this:

Click on the green button: "Create a new branch".

4. This opens a popup.

Fill in the branch name, select branch source and click the green button. Done!

How to create a branch: Command line (recommended)

Branching can also be done properly, from the command line / terminal.

1. Make sure you are in the repo.

You can check where you are in a local file repository using the pwd command. It should print working directory (aka filepath).

2. Check which branch is currently active using the command: git branch.

It should list all the branches that are in a certain repository. A * will appear next to the currently active branch.

3. Create a new branch using the command: git branch [name-of-the-new-branch]

(skip the square brackets, don't use spaces). It will create a new branch at the current commit.

4. To switch to a new branch, use the command: git checkout [name-of-the-branch].

This command will switch your code changes to the branch you specified.