Installing a Git Client

Goal: By the end of this document you will have installed a git client such as SourceTree by Atlassian and the use it to create a local repository on your machine and then branch and commit to it.

There are many ways to use git and many of them involve a series of command line tools. However, to get started I am recommending you use a GUI ( Graphical User Interface ) application which will help visualize some of the git process. Git can be confusing and we want the learning curve to be as simple as possible.

Installing the client

1. Visit https://www.sourcetreeapp.com/ and download Source Tree for your OS ( Windows, Mac, Linux etc)

2. Install the software. This will put the GUI on your computer but also install a version of git.

3. If asked to choose between BitBucket Cloud or BitBucket Server, choose cloud. However, a BitBucket or Atlassian account is not necessary for this class.

4. If asked about SSH keys, we will not be using them in this class.

5. If asked if you want to create a repository on your Atlassian or Bitbucket account, choose No. We will be using git repos on GitHub.com later.