Git Setup & Workflow

Use this page for the commands that turn a local project into a GitHub-backed repo and keep day-to-day work moving through dev and feature branches.

Set up an SSH key for GitHub

Create an SSH key on the local machine, start the SSH agent, add the key, and copy the public key so it can be added to GitHub under Settings -> SSH and GPG keys.

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "you@example.com"
eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"
ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

After adding the public key to GitHub, test the connection.

ssh -T git@github.com

When GitHub SSH is working, use SSH remotes instead of HTTPS remotes so terminal pushes do not ask for a GitHub username or password.

git remote set-url origin git@github.com:USERNAME/REPO.git
git remote -v

Use multiple GitHub accounts

Use named SSH hosts when one machine needs more than one GitHub identity. Each host points at a different SSH key.

cat ~/.ssh/config

Example ~/.ssh/config entries:

Host github.com-personal
  HostName github.com
  User git
  IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_personal
  IdentitiesOnly yes

Host github.com-work
  HostName github.com
  User git
  IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_work
  IdentitiesOnly yes

Use the matching host in the repository remote.

git remote set-url origin git@github.com-personal:USERNAME/REPO.git
git remote -v

Check which Git identity is active in the current repo.

git config user.name
git config user.email
git config --list --show-origin

Set repo-specific identity values when needed.

git config user.name "Your Name"
git config user.email "you@example.com"

Clone an existing repo with SSH

Use the SSH clone URL from GitHub so future pulls and pushes use the SSH key instead of asking for a GitHub username or password.

git clone git@github.com:USERNAME/REPO.git
cd REPO

If using a named SSH host for multiple GitHub accounts, use that host in the clone URL.

git clone git@github.com-personal:USERNAME/REPO.git
cd REPO

Initialize a repo for the first time

Run this from the project root when the files already exist locally.

git init
git add .
git commit -m "Initial commit"
git branch -M main
git remote add origin git@github.com:USERNAME/REPO.git
git push -u origin main

Create a Rails app with PostgreSQL and Git

Create the Rails app with PostgreSQL, enter the project directory, make the first commit, and push main.

rails new APP_NAME -d postgresql
cd APP_NAME
git add .
git commit -m "Initial Rails app"
git branch -M main
git remote add origin git@github.com:USERNAME/REPO.git
git push -u origin main

Create an Astro site with Git

Create the Astro project, enter the project directory, make the first commit, and push main.

npm create astro@latest APP_NAME
cd APP_NAME
git add .
git commit -m "Initial Astro app"
git branch -M main
git remote add origin git@github.com:USERNAME/REPO.git
git push -u origin main

Create `dev` after the initial `main` push

Push the first clean baseline to main, then immediately create dev locally and push it to GitHub. Use dev as the integration branch for normal work.

git checkout -b dev
git push -u origin dev

Create feature or bug branches from `dev`

Update dev, create a focused branch, commit the work, and push the branch.

git checkout dev
git pull origin dev
git checkout -b feature/short-description
git add .
git commit -m "Describe the change"
git push -u origin feature/short-description

Branch naming examples

Use short branch names that say what changed.

git checkout -b feature/add-login
git checkout -b bugfix/fix-navbar-overlap
git checkout -b chore/update-dependencies

Pull request and branch cleanup

Open a pull request on GitHub from the feature or bug branch into dev. After GitHub merges the PR, switch back to local dev and pull the updated remote branch.

git checkout dev
git pull origin dev

Delete the merged branch locally.

git branch -d feature/short-description

Optionally delete the remote branch after it has been merged.

git push origin --delete feature/short-description

Git helpers and utilities

Check what changed and which branch is active.

git status
git branch

Fix the last commit message before pushing.

git commit --amend -m "Better commit message"

Add a missed file to the last commit before pushing.

git add path/to/file
git commit --amend --no-edit

Undo local changes to one file.

git restore path/to/file

Undo all unstaged local changes in tracked files.

git restore .

Unstage a file after git add.

git restore --staged path/to/file

Temporarily stash unfinished work when switching branches. This is still useful, but treat it like short-term storage and apply it again soon.

git stash push -m "Short note about the work"
git stash list
git stash pop