Installing Git

Guide to installing Git, performing the initial setup, and connecting your environment with GitHub.

Requirements

Installation

1. Refresh the package index.

   sudo apt-get update
   

2. Remove any previous installation.

   sudo apt-get remove git
   

3. Install Git from the official repositories.

   sudo apt-get install git
   

Verification

Check the installed version.

git --version

git version 2.17.1

Initial Configuration

View the current configuration.

git config --list

Set your global identity.

git config --global user.name "John Smith"

git config --global user.email "john.smith@example.com"

Working Locally Without a Remote

You can initialize a local repository in any folder with git init.

cd app

git init

git status

Cloning Repositories from GitHub

GitHub hosts public and private repositories. Clone them over HTTPS or SSH.

Clone via HTTPS.

git clone https://github.com/username/project.git

Clone via SSH.

git clone git@github.com:username/project.git

Note: Using SSH requires registering your public key with GitHub.

Change the Project's Remote URL

Link your local repository to a remote destination.

git remote add origin git@github.com:username/project.git

Switch the remote URL to HTTPS.

git remote set-url origin https://github.com/username/project.git

Switch the remote URL to SSH.

git remote set-url origin git@github.com:username/project.git

Inspect the configured remotes.

git remote -v

origin  https://github.com/username/project.git (fetch)
origin  https://github.com/username/project.git (push)

Configure SSH Keys for GitHub

1. Check for existing SSH keys.

   ls -l ~/.ssh
   

2. If none are present, generate one following Creación de llaves SSH.

3. Copy the public key id_rsa.pub.

   cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub
   

   Paste it under Settings > SSH and GPG keys in your GitHub account.

Verify the connection with:

ssh -T git@github.com

Hi username! You've successfully authenticated, but GitHub does not provide shell access.

GitHub Personal Access Tokens

Personal access tokens let you authenticate over HTTPS when working with private repositories.

1. Go to Settings > Developer settings > Personal access tokens and create a token with the scopes you need (for example, repo).

2. Use the token instead of your password whenever Git requests HTTPS credentials.

Example: Cloning a private repository with a token.

git clone https://github.com/username/my-private-project.git

Clonando en 'my-private-project'...
Username: git
Password: your_token

References

• Inicio - Sobre el Control de Versiones - Configurando Git por primera vez

• Generating a new SSH key and adding it to the ssh-agent

• Adding a new SSH key to your GitHub account

• Creating a personal access token for the command line

• Changing a remote's URL

• Testing your SSH connection