Getting Started with Git and GitHub

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Getting Started with Git and GitHub

This course is part of multiple programs.

Instructors: Rav Ahuja

165,007 already enrolled

Included with

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4 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

1,924 reviews

Beginner level

Recommended experience

Flexible schedule

1 week at 10 hours a week

Learn at your own pace

94%

Most learners liked this course

4 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

1,924 reviews

Beginner level

Recommended experience

Flexible schedule

1 week at 10 hours a week

Learn at your own pace

94%

Most learners liked this course

What you'll learn

Describe version control and its place in social and collaborative coding and in DevOps.
Explain basic Git concepts such as repositories and branches used for distributed version control and social coding.
Create GitHub repositories and branches, and perform pull requests (PRs) and merge operations, to collaborate on a team project.
Build your portfolio by creating and sharing an open-source project on GitHub.

Skills you'll gain

Tools you'll learn

Details to know

Shareable certificate

Add to your LinkedIn profile

Assessments

5 assignments

Taught in English

91%

of learners achieved a positive career outcome

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Develop job-relevant skills with hands-on projects
Earn a shareable career certificate

There are 4 modules in this course

Get started with Git and GitHub in this self-paced, introductory course! You’ll become familiar with collaborative version control and popular Git platforms. Collaboration and social coding are crucial parts of contemporary Software Engineering practices and the DevOps culture.

You will begin this course with an overview of Git and Github fundamentals and explore key Git concepts such as branching and repositories, as well as the use of Git commands. You will also learn and practice various Git concepts such as forking, cloning and merging workflows using hands-on labs. And you’ll learn to use GitHub to work effectively as a team, and perform common Git operations, from both the Web UI and command line. The course wraps up with a final project where you will start building your portfolio by creating and sharing a public/open-source GitHub project. By completing this course you will demonstrate your Git and Github skills as well as add a project to your resume! All hands-on activities in this course can be performed using web-browser based tools and interfaces. Installation of any specialized software is NOT required on your own computer in order to complete the course.

Application developers rarely work alone. Large web/cloud/mobile development and data science projects will include many people – front-end developers, back-end developers, database administrators, repository administrators, and others. Every change by every contributor must be tracked and controlled to enable collaboration, accountability, and version management. This type of distributed version control is extremely important when managing both small and large software projects. In this module, you will learn about some of the popular version control tools, create a GitHub account, and use the GitHub web interface to create a repository, add a file to it, and commit your changes. Branches are the heart of workflows in Git-based version control systems like GitHub. You will also become familiar with creating and using branches and merging your changes to the main branch.

What's included

6 videos2 readings3 assignments3 plugins

6 videosTotal 24 minutes

Course Introduction4 minutes
Overview of Git and GitHub4 minutes
Introduction to GitHub5 minutes
GitHub Repositories4 minutes
GitHub - Getting Started3 minutes
GitHub Branches5 minutes

2 readingsTotal 4 minutes

Summary: Getting Started with Git and GitHub2 minutes
Summary: Branches with GitHub2 minutes

3 assignmentsTotal 37 minutes

Graded Quiz: Git and GitHub Fundamentals21 minutes
Practice Quiz: Getting Started with Git and GitHub 10 minutes
Practice Quiz: Branches with GitHub 6 minutes

3 pluginsTotal 55 minutes

Hands-On Lab: GitHub Sign Up and Create Repo30 minutes
Hands-On Lab: Branching and Merging (Web UI)20 minutes
Glossary: Git and GitHub Fundamentals 5 minutes

As you start working with GitHub repositories and automating workflows, using the web interface can be limiting and more time-consuming. This is where Git commands come in. You can use it from your own desktop, or a virtual desktop provided through the Cloud IDE - wherever you develop your code. In this module, you will become familiar with and utilize various Git commands to clone and fork repositories, as well as commit, push, and pull your changes using the command line.

What's included

6 videos1 reading2 assignments2 app items3 plugins

6 videosTotal 33 minutes

Overview of Git Workflows7 minutes
Overview of Git Commands5 minutes
Demo: Working with Branches using Git Commands5 minutes
Cloning and Forking GitHub Projects6 minutes
Cloning versus Forking7 minutes
Managing GitHub Projects4 minutes

1 readingTotal 2 minutes

Summary: Git Workflows with Git Commands2 minutes

2 assignmentsTotal 31 minutes

Graded Quiz: Git Commands and Managing GitHub Projects 21 minutes
Practice Quiz: Git Workflows with Git Commands10 minutes

2 app itemsTotal 50 minutes

Hands-On Lab: Getting Started with Branches using Git Commands25 minutes
Hands-On Lab: Cloning and Forking GitHub Projects25 minutes

3 pluginsTotal 29 minutes

Reading: Git Commands15 minutes
Cheat Sheet: Git Commands and Managing GitHub Projects 10 minutes
Glossary: Git Commands and Managing GitHub Projects 4 minutes

Now that you are familiar working with GitHub repositories, Branches, and Git commands, in this module you will apply your knowledge and skills to create a GitHub Project, add few files to it such as an open-source license, and share it publicly.

What's included

1 video2 readings1 peer review3 app items5 plugins

1 videoTotal 5 minutes

[Optional] GitHub Copilot5 minutes

2 readingsTotal 7 minutes

Congratulations and Next Steps2 minutes
Thanks from the Course Team5 minutes

1 peer reviewTotal 30 minutes

Option 2: Peer Review Submission and Evaluation30 minutes

3 app itemsTotal 135 minutes

Option 1: AI-Graded Submission and Evaluation30 minutes
Practice Project: Part 2 - Git CLI45 minutes
Final Project: Part 2 - Git CLI60 minutes

5 pluginsTotal 95 minutes

Practice Project: Overview15 minutes
Practice Project: Part 1 - GitHub UI30 minutes
Final Project: Overview and Grading Criteria15 minutes
Final Project: Part 1 - GitHub UI30 minutes
Course Glossary: Git and GitHub5 minutes

In this module, you will learn to install Git Bash on your Windows machine and configure an SSH key to work with your GitHub repo using Git commands on your system.

What's included

1 reading4 plugins

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Instructors

Instructor ratings

(504 ratings)

Rav Ahuja

IBM

55 Courses5,043,978 learners

Offered by

IBM

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5 stars
75.53%
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Showing 3 of 1924

Reviewed on Apr 12, 2025

There should be more information on the final project. I was a bit confused if it was talking about writing in CLI or Github.

Reviewed on May 9, 2023

A very complete and dynamic course that develops learning how to operate GitHub, its history and the benefits for the community.

Reviewed on Aug 4, 2024

Useful start to GitHub. Practice modules are the most helpful, but videos are paced too quickly, do not give time to take notes.

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Frequently asked questions

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When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Certificate, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile.