> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://notes.kodekloud.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Demo Initialize Git > Guide to initializing and using Git in a project, covering installation check, repository initialization, staging, committing, restoring files, viewing history, and configuring author identity. In this lesson you'll initialize a Git repository inside the Blockbuster project folder to start tracking changes, enable easy rollbacks, and keep a clear project history. What you'll learn: * Verify Git is installed. * Initialize a repository and inspect its status. * Stage and commit files. * Restore deleted files from history. * Configure author identity for commits. Prerequisites * Git installed on your machine. Many Ubuntu distributions include Git by default. * If you're unsure, verify with: ```bash theme={null} git version # Example output: # git version 2.34.0 ``` If Git is missing or you want to upgrade, visit [https://git-scm.com](https://git-scm.com) for installers or use your platform package manager. Common install commands: ```bash theme={null} # Debian/Ubuntu sudo apt-get install git # Or via the official Git PPA sudo add-apt-repository ppa:git-core/ppa sudo apt update && sudo apt install git # RHEL/CentOS / Fedora sudo yum install git # older Fedora / CentOS sudo dnf install git # newer Fedora # Gentoo sudo emerge --ask --verbose dev-vcs/git # Arch sudo pacman -S git ``` Initialize a repository 1. Change into your project directory (for example, the `Blockbuster` folder). 2. Before initialization you should not see a `.git` directory: ```bash theme={null} ls -a # Example output: # . .. README.md index.html script.js style.css ``` 3. Initialize the repository: ```bash theme={null} git init # Example output: # Initialized empty Git repository in /path/to/Blockbuster/.git/ ``` 4. Confirm the `.git` directory exists: ```bash theme={null} ls -a # Example output: # . .. .git README.md index.html script.js style.css ``` Check repository status After initialization, check the repo status to see which files are untracked: ```bash theme={null} git status # Example output: # On branch main # # No commits yet # # Untracked files: # (use "git add ..." to include in what will be committed) # README.md # index.html # script.js # style.css # # nothing added to commit but untracked files present (use "git add" to track) ``` Stage files for commit You can stage individual files or stage all current files. To stage everything in the directory: ```bash theme={null} git add . git status # Example output: # On branch main # # No commits yet # # Changes to be committed: # (use "git rm --cached ..." to unstage) # new file: README.md # new file: index.html # new file: script.js # new file: style.css ``` Commit staged files Create the initial commit with a descriptive message: ```bash theme={null} git commit -m "initial commit" # Example output: # [main (root-commit) 4374c54] initial commit # 4 files changed, 1472 insertions(+) # create mode 100644 README.md # create mode 100644 index.html # create mode 100644 script.js # create mode 100644 style.css ``` Verify a clean working tree: ```bash theme={null} git status # On branch main # nothing to commit, working tree clean ``` Restore deleted files from history Git can restore files removed from the working tree if they existed in the last commit. ```bash theme={null} # Delete the file rm script.js ls # Example output: # Check status after deletion git status # Example output: # On branch main # Changes not staged for commit: # (use "git add/rm ..." to update what will be committed) # (use "git restore ..." to discard changes in working directory) # deleted: script.js # # Restore the file from the last commit git restore script.js # Verify the working tree is clean again git status # On branch main # nothing to commit, working tree clean ``` Make a small change and commit Edit `README.md` (for example, fix a typo), then stage and commit the change: ```bash theme={null} git status # On branch main # Changes not staged for commit: # (use "git add ..." to update what will be committed) # (use "git restore ..." to discard changes in working directory) git add README.md git commit -m "fixed a typo mistake" # Example output: # [main 5bb781a] fixed a typo mistake # 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-) ``` Inspect commit history View the commit log to see past commits, authorship, and timestamps: ```bash theme={null} git log # Example output: # commit 5bb781a27c4de1ab63cc6d5966866dfe40e (HEAD -> main) # Author: admin # Date: Sun Apr 26 17:14:04 2026 +0000 # # fixed a typo mistake # # commit 437c45f4e553e10e09a57f2235fa3961c610 # Author: admin # Date: Sun Apr 26 17:11:49 2026 +0000 # # initial commit ``` Configure author identity Git records the author for every commit using `user.name` and `user.email`. You can set these globally (applies to all repositories for your user) or locally (only for the current repository). Set a global identity: ```bash theme={null} git config --global user.email "siddharth@sid.com" git config --global user.name "Siddharth" ``` Or set them only for the current repository: ```bash theme={null} git config user.email "siddharth@sid.com" git config user.name "Siddharth" ``` After updating the config, make another commit and verify the author fields: ```bash theme={null} git add README.md git commit -m "updated the main heading" git log # Example output: # commit 4b0f8f3dbf90d36d464cabf874a321646eadc13 (HEAD -> main) # Author: Siddharth # Date: Sun Apr 26 17:16:25 2026 +0000 # # updated the main heading # # commit 5bb781a27c4de1ab63cc6d5966866dfe40e # Author: admin # Date: Sun Apr 26 17:14:04 2026 +0000 # # fixed a typo mistake # # commit 437c45f4e553e10e09a57f2235fa3961c610 # Author: admin # Date: Sun Apr 26 17:11:49 2026 +0000 # # initial commit ``` If you are working on a shared machine or with multiple identities, prefer using `git config --local` (inside the repo) to avoid changing your global settings. You can always override per-repository with the local config. Quick reference — common Git commands | Task | Command | | ----------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------- | | Check Git version | `git version` | | Initialize repo | `git init` | | Show status | `git status` | | Stage all files | `git add .` | | Stage a file | `git add README.md` | | Commit staged changes | `git commit -m "message"` | | Restore file from last commit | `git restore ` | | View commit history | `git log` | | Set global user email | `git config --global user.email "you@example.com"` | | Set local user name | `git config user.name "Your Name"` | Links and references * Official Git: [https://git-scm.com](https://git-scm.com) * Git documentation: [https://git-scm.com/doc](https://git-scm.com/doc) * Git config documentation: [https://git-scm.com/docs/git-config](https://git-scm.com/docs/git-config) This completes the basic Git initialization workflow: verify/install Git, initialize the repository, stage and commit files, restore files from history, and configure author identity.