# Git overview

**Git** allows software developers (and even anyone who works with any kind of data) to share bundles of files in **repositories**:

* Each person can have a **local repository** (aka version)
    
    * they can then push that to a **remote repository** (typically on [GitHub.com](https://www.github.com))
        
* Many people can work on the same **remote repository**
    
* Everything magically gets merged based on changes called **diffs**...
    
    * ...unless a **conflict** happens in which case developers typically resolve the conflict (or pull their hair and/or skin out)
        

When things run smoothly enough, Git can feel like the most useful thing in the world as it:

* tracks changes
    
* allows us to rollback changes
    
* shows who did something, line-by-line
    
* simplifies code review by a lot
    
* promotes open source development
    

### Git basics

To "get by with Git", one just needs to know "**the flow**" in addition to these actions:

* **Cloning**
    
    * copying a repository to one's own "local" computer
        
* **Initializing**
    
    * starting a local repository
        
* **Staging**
    
    * preparing changes to a local repository for a commit
        
* **Committing**
    
    * confirming changes to a local repository
        
* **Pushing**
    
    * sending committed changes from a local repository to a remote repository
        
* **Pulling**
    
    * "**fetching**" changes from a remote repository to a local repository
        
* **Branching**
    
    * creating a separate sub-version ("**checking out a new branch**") of a repository
        
* **Merging**
    
    * requesting an integration of a sub-branch into the main branch
        
    * confirmation of this merge usually via a "**pull request approval**"
        

Many more idiosyncratic terms in the Git universe exists so we will try to cover them in this series!