Git-it

Ok, you've studied a lot, learned a few programming languages, you even have a few small pet-projects to prove your worth to the world by becoming a developer.

But wait, you now have to deal with version control systems such as Git, and web-based repositories hosting services such as GitHub, and you don't know where to start.

When it comes to software development, it's beautiful to see just how helpful and how huge of an impact the community can have at times. Git-it is a perfect example of this.

In short, Git-it is a fantastic novice-accessible learning tool that helps you learn everything there is to know about the basics of Git and GitHub.

It comes in the form of a classy Electron app, and the actual learning part is done "in the real world," and not with the help of emulators.

To achieve this, the app presents you with a set of Challenges.

Before you get all skeptical and put too much pressure on yourself, don't worry - the challenges are simple, very well-explained and each time you launch the app you can see how many you have completed and how many you have left. After all, Rome wasn't built in a day.

Just trust us, by the end of the course, you'll know everything there is to know about repositories, forking, branching, pull requests, remote repositories, working with collaborators, and a dozen other useful things.

The first challenge is called "Get Git," and once completed you can make your way through the rest, appropriately named as follows: "Repository," "Commit to It," "GitHubbin," "Remote Control," "Forks and Clones," Branches Aren't Just For Birds," "It's A Small World," "Pull Never Out Of Date," "Requesting You Pull Please," and "Merge Tada."

First and foremost, you'll need to make sure that you have an active Internet connection (for some challenges). Next, you'll want to install the latest version of Git on your computer, and have a decent text editor running side by side. Some good options (but not limited to) are Atom, Sublime, Microsoft VS Code, Adobe Brackets, etc.

All that's left to do now is download the app's archive. The app is pretty straightforward to run since it doesn't even require installation.

The app is the brainchild of Jessica Lord, and a few other contributors, but the official repository hasn't been maintained or updated for several years (even though the content is just as relevant).

Since then, the app has been forked (basically taken over) by a passionate GitHub user named Jotoeri who also took the liberty to update various dependencies, some content, and even started adding some new translations.

Git-it is without a shadow of a doubt one of the most useful learning tools out there for Git and GitHub. It's recommended to all beginner developers who what to learn the basics in an organized environment and a very hands-on fashion.

While it won't make you a super-star developer overnight, this little tool has the potential to make GitHub feel far less intimidating, and that's definitely a good way to start out things on your way to success. Check it out and see for yourself!