Github

Basic workflow

Github allows version control of our scripts, backing up and sharing the code. More complex uses allow several people to work on some code (branching). For basic users we can use Github Desktop as a GUI to manage pulls and pushes. Otherwise they can be made from command line (using Git)

Basic workflow:

• Make a user account in github

• We clone a repository from ORIGIN (=github web: e.g. ,.github.com/yourusername/reponame) to our local machine

• Work on our local folder edit scripts, add files etc. Then COMMIT (this will detect differences from your local folder to your origin). Then PUSH the changes to your origin (this will upload the changes in your online repo). In the website you will be able to see history of changes.

• If you make changes in the origin directly (you are in the web and add some files or edit scripts). Then you can PULL origin, which will bring the stuff into your local

NOTE 1: if you FORK someone else’s repository you make a copy of it in your machine or github repo. That copy will be independent: you will have full control over it and will be ‘disconnected’ from the original. If you CLONE a repository, you will copy it but changes on it will also go to the origin (e.g., Somebody Clones my repository, makes changes and then PUSH them to Github. I will then get some notification requesting to merge those changes with my version). So unless you are collaborating on some code it will be safer to just FORK and work on it independently.

NOTE 2: If you have data folders within your script folder you can add a file named “.gitignore” ( https://git-scm.com/docs/gitignore) specifying those folders containing data. This way when you PUSH to origin Github won’t try to upload those files (else it will crash if you try to push too many files or too large). However, it may still be advisable to just have scripts in a separate folder and push the entire folder to Github (more clear workflow)…

Some workflow images: