Your First Repository

Making a repository

Any folder can become a repository. Let’s track a garden plan ¹:

me@linuxbox:~$ mkdir garden && cd garden
me@linuxbox:~/garden$ git init
Initialized empty Git repository in /home/me/garden/.git/

git init creates the hidden .git folder, where everything git knows about this project will live. Nothing is tracked yet ¹.

Make two files, then ask git what it sees:

me@linuxbox:~/garden$ echo "# Garden plan" > README.md
me@linuxbox:~/garden$ printf 'tomatoes\nbeans\n' > beds.txt
me@linuxbox:~/garden$ git status
On branch main

No commits yet

Untracked files:
  (use "git add <file>..." to include in what will be committed)
    README.md
    beds.txt

nothing added to commit but untracked files present (use "git add" to track)

git status is the command you’ll run most. It says what branch you’re on, what’s changed, and, helpfully, what commands to use next ¹.

The basic loop

Stage the files with git add, then check again ¹:

me@linuxbox:~/garden$ git add README.md beds.txt
me@linuxbox:~/garden$ git status
On branch main

No commits yet

Changes to be committed:
  (use "git rm --cached <file>..." to unstage)
    new file:   README.md
    new file:   beds.txt

Commit them, with a message saying what this snapshot is ¹:

me@linuxbox:~/garden$ git commit -m "Start the garden plan"
[main (root-commit) adc6083] Start the garden plan
 2 files changed, 3 insertions(+)
 create mode 100644 README.md
 create mode 100644 beds.txt

adc6083 is the start of the new commit’s ID. Without -m, git opens your editor for the message.

That’s the loop, over and over: edit, git add, git commit, with git status whenever you’re unsure.

Seeing what changed

Add a line to beds.txt and look ¹:

me@linuxbox:~/garden$ echo carrots >> beds.txt
me@linuxbox:~/garden$ git status
On branch main
Changes not staged for commit:
  (use "git add <file>..." to update what will be committed)
  (use "git restore <file>..." to discard changes in working directory)
    modified:   beds.txt

no changes added to commit (use "git add" and/or "git commit -a")
me@linuxbox:~/garden$ git diff
diff --git a/beds.txt b/beds.txt
index 9d086fb..b418f82 100644
--- a/beds.txt
+++ b/beds.txt
@@ -1,2 +1,3 @@
 tomatoes
 beans
+carrots

git diff shows changes you haven’t staged yet: lines starting with + were added, - removed. After git add, git diff shows nothing, and git diff --staged shows what’s staged for the next commit ¹.

For a compact status, use git status -s ¹:

me@linuxbox:~/garden$ git status -s
 M beds.txt

The two columns are the staging area and the working directory: M is modified but not staged, M is staged, ?? is untracked, A is a new file staged.

History

me@linuxbox:~/garden$ git add beds.txt && git commit -m "Add carrots"
me@linuxbox:~/garden$ git log
commit 82d8b55...
Author: Me <me@example.com>
Date:   Mon Oct 5 09:20:00 2026 -0500

    Add carrots

commit adc608396be93380956acec8ccb105797b4a2e75
...
me@linuxbox:~/garden$ git log --oneline
82d8b55 Add carrots
adc6083 Start the garden plan

git log lists commits newest first, with author, date, and message; --oneline gives one line each ¹. Press q to leave the pager.

Committing in one step

For files git already tracks, git commit -a stages every change and commits in one go ¹:

me@linuxbox:~/garden$ echo peas >> beds.txt
me@linuxbox:~/garden$ git commit -am "Add peas"
[main c2ee056] Add peas
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+)

It skips new files, which still need git add, and it commits every change, so use it when you know everything changed belongs together.

Inside .git

me@linuxbox:~/garden$ ls .git
COMMIT_EDITMSG  HEAD  config  description  hooks  index  info  logs  objects  refs

objects holds every snapshot, refs the branch names, HEAD which branch you’re on, index the staging area, and config this repository’s settings ^{1 2}. Module 6 opens it up. Until then, never edit anything in .git by hand, and remember that deleting .git deletes the whole history, leaving only the current files.

Your turn

So

git init makes a repository. Then the loop is edit, git add to stage, git commit -m to save a snapshot, with git status to see where things stand, git diff (and --staged) to see changes, and git log to see history. commit -a skips the add for tracked files, and .git holds everything, so leave it alone.