Getting Started With the Git Command Line Editor — Git Bash

For the purposes of these upcoming tutorials, we will be using Git Bash — a Git command line editor, and not the Git GUI. The thought process behind this is to understand the processes that go on behind the scenes of the GUI. Hopefully in-turn making Git easier to comprehend down the line when things get more complex.

You can download Git Bash here: https://git-scm.com/

You can just leave everything on the defaults during installation preferences, unless you are a more advanced user and know what info is being fed to you.

When you are done installing, feel free to open Git Bash.

The above red circle (rectangle) denotes the current directory your Git Bash is currently looking in.

CMD editors always look intimidating to me too, don’t worry. Soon enough though, you’ll be able to fly through them.

The above image is what you’ll be welcomed by once opening Git Bash, and where you’ll be entering commands. At the top of the window, you can see your currently selected directory. Typing in ‘ls‘ will give you a list of files, folders (directories), and hidden items in the directory Git Bash is currently looking in.

Typing ‘ls’ provides a LIST of items in the current directory.

Let’s say I want to look into my Desktop directory. To change directories, you would type in ‘cd desktop’. Notice how the information in the top of the window, and in the CMD change. Now typing ‘ls’ will give me a list of items in the new directory!

Typing ‘cd’ will change you current directory. You could for example, also type ‘cd desk’ and then press Tab for auto-fill. But be careful with this if you have like-named items in the same directory!

While these are two important commands to know, there is a much cleaner and efficient way to open up a directory that you want to begin working inside. Navigating to you directory (folder) of choice, you can right-click inside and select ‘Git Bash here’.

Right-Click to open up Git Bash in this directory.

It may not seem like much, but just knowing how to navigate properly within a CMD editor is a feat in itself! It’s a small building block that paves the way for much more.

In the next article, we’ll be creating a GitHub repository and connecting it to a Unity project!