How to Setup Git and Github for Node.js

In this tutorial, we will learn how to set up Git and Github for Node.js development. Git is a distributed version control system that is widely used for managing codebase, while Github is a popular platform for hosting and collaborating on Git repositories.

Step 1: Install Git

The first step is to install Git on your computer. You can download Git from the official website (https://git-scm.com/) and follow the installation instructions for your operating system. Once Git is installed, you can open a terminal and run the following command to verify the installation:

git --version

Step 2: Configure Git

After installing Git, you need to configure your identity. This includes setting up your name and email address, which will be used to identify your commits. Open a terminal and run the following commands, replacing “Your Name” and “Your Email” with your actual name and email address:

git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "Your Email"

Step 3: Create a Github Account

If you don’t already have a Github account, you need to create one. Go to the Github website (https://github.com/) and sign up for a free account. Once you have created your account, you can sign in to Github using your username and password.

Step 4: Create a New Repository

Once you have a Github account, you can create a new repository to host your Node.js project. Click on the “New” button in the upper-right corner of the Github dashboard, then follow the instructions to set up your repository. Make sure to select “Node” as the .gitignore template if you are working with Node.js.

Step 5: Add Remote Repository

After creating a new repository on Github, you need to link it to your local Git repository. In your terminal, navigate to your Node.js project directory and run the following command, replacing “YourRepoURL” with the URL of your Github repository:

git remote add origin YourRepoURL

Step 6: Push Changes to Github

Now that your local repository is connected to the remote repository on Github, you can push your code changes to Github using the following command:

git push -u origin master

Conclusion

By following these steps, you can set up Git and Github for your Node.js project. This will allow you to easily collaborate with others, track changes to your codebase, and easily deploy your application using Github’s hosting capabilities.