Git & GitHub for Beginners: The Ultimate VS Code Usage Guide (2026)
This will get you up and running with Git and its usage in VS Code
Upon completion of this guide, you will be able to sucessfully:
Initialize repositories, stage changes, handle merge conflicts, and push code to GitHub without ever leaving your editor. By the end, you'll have a professional version control workflow that saves you time and prevents "spaghetti code" disasters.
📚 Resources & Links:
👉🏻My personal website: https://valerkahere.com/
👉🏻Download VS Code: https://code.visualstudio.com/download
👉🏻Download Git: https://git-scm.com/install/
👉🏻Access the presentation: https://github.com/valerkahere/youtube
⌚Timestamps:
00:00:00 – Seizure Warning
00:00:07 – Intro & Overview
00:00:22 – Git Is a Time Machine
00:00:47 – Prerequisites
00:01:00 – Installing VS Code (Windows & macOS)
00:01:41 – Installing Git (Windows & macOS)
00:04:40 – What Is Git?
00:05:06 – Creating a Project Folder
00:06:14 – What Is git config?
00:06:45 – Disabling GitHub Copilot
00:08:00 – Initializing a Repository (git init)
00:09:36 – Git Configuration (git config)
00:12:29 – Common Git Problems
00:13:30 – Git Environments: Working, Staging, Commit
00:16:45 – Staging Files (git add .)
00:17:53 – Working Directory vs Staging Area
00:19:46 – Creating Commits (git commit -m)
00:22:55 – Committing the Visual Way (VS Code)
00:28:33 – Writing Good Commit Messages
00:29:43 – Fixing the Last Commit (git commit --amend)
00:31:23 – Understanding HEAD
00:34:27 – Fixing the Last Commit (Visual Way)
00:35:53 – Committing Without Staging (What Happens?)
00:36:25 – Git Status Indicators
00:37:32 – Ignoring Files (.gitignore)
00:41:14 – What Are Git Branches?
00:43:28 – Git Branching Workflow
00:54:16 – Remotes: git push & git pull
01:02:54 – Solving Merge Conflicts
01:07:26 – Git Diff & VS Code Diff View
01:12:16 – Final Notes
01:12:50 – Musical Outro 🎵
🖥️ GIT COMMANDS CHEAT SHEET
Set configuration values for your username and email
git config --global user.name YOUR NAME
git config --global user.email YOUR EMAIL
Set default branch to main
git config --global init.default branch main
Get help on a command
git help COMMAND
git COMMAND -h
Initialize a new git repository
git init
Clone a repository
git clone REPOSITORY URL
Add a file to the staging area
git add FILE
Add all file changes to the staging area
git add --all
git add -A
git add .
Check the unstaged changes
git diff
Commit the staged changes
git commit -m "MESSAGE"
Reset staging area to the last commit
git reset
Check the state of the working directory and the staging area
git status
Remove a file from the index and working directory
git rm FILENAME
Rename a file
git mv (OLD NAME) (NEW NAME)
List the commit history
git log
List all the local branches
git branch
Create a new branch
git branch BRANCH NAME
Rename the current branch
git branch -m NEW BRANCH NAME
Delete a branch
git branch -d BRANCH NAME
Switch to another branch
git switch BRANCH NAME
Merge specified branch into the current branch
git merge BRANCH NAME
Create a connection to a remote repository
git remote add (NAME) (REPOSITORY URL)
Push the committed changes to a remote directory
git push (REMOTE) (BRANCH)
Download the content from a remote repository
git pull REMOTE
Git Logo by Jason Long is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.