Using Git¶
Git is a command line tool for managing git repositories. However, just because it is a command line tool does not mean that you have to use it in the command line. There are many GUI Git clients out there that make working with git very user friendly.
You can find a list of Git GUI clients on the GUI Clients page at git-scm.com.
Cloning a Repository¶
Cloning (downloading) a repository (also called a repo), can be done in the command line, by first navigating to the directory where you want the repository’s files to go. Then running the following command.
$ git clone REPO_URL
Where REPO_URL is the url of the repository that you wish to clone. Once cloned, you will have an exact copy of
the repository as it was the moment you cloned it.
Pulling Changes¶
So, now you have a copy of the repository, but some one has made a change, and you don’t see it on
your computer. To get these changes synced to your computer you run the git pull command, which is
like the clone command, except it only downloads the changes that have been made since the last time you pulled (or cloned).
The Fetch Command¶
In using GUI clients or googling around, you will likely come across mentions of the git fetch command. On
the surface, the fetch command seems to do the same thing that the pull command does. However, they are slightly different.
The fetch command will get information from the remote repository about changes that have happened since the last time you pulled/fetched/cloned but it will not actually download the changes, so will not affect your working files.