Step 5: Collaborate with Remote Repositories

Remember, a repository is just a collection of project files. That repository could be on your local drive, on a cloud service (like Dropbox), or a specialized service like Github. Github is a website where individuals and groups can share a repository (publicly or privately). A repository that isn't on your local drive is commonly called a remote.

Why a remote repository?

There are two key reasons for having a remote repository like Github:

1. You can store your project in a place that can be accessed from any computer where you have installed Git,
2. For collaboration. Once you have a remote repository, you can easily collaborate and share changes with other people.

About 'pushing' and 'pulling': Commiting changes to a remote repository is called pushing the changes. Getting changes from a remove repository is called pulling the changes.

We're going to use Github to set up a remote repository where you can push and pull changes.

A: Sign up for a Github account

NOTE: If you already have a Github account, you can skip this part.

1. Visit the GitHub Website: Go to GitHub's website.
2. Sign Up: Click on the “Sign up” button, usually located at the top right corner.
3. Enter Your Details: Fill in your email address, create a username, and set a password.
4. Verify Account: Follow any verification steps required by GitHub.
5. Choose a Plan: Select a plan. You can start with the free plan, which is sufficient for most individual projects.
6. Complete Setup: Complete any additional steps required by GitHub to set up your account.

B: Create a new repository on Github

1. Log In to GitHub: Sign in to your GitHub account.
2. Go to Repositories: Click on the “Repositories” tab.
3. New Repository: Click the “New” button, usually located near the top right.
4. Repository Name: Give your repository a name that reflects your project.
5. Initialize with README (Optional): You can choose to initialize your repository with a README file.
6. Create Repository: Click on “Create repository.”

C: Connect to a Remote Repository

You have to connect your local and remore repositories before you can use the remote.

Link your local repository to the GitHub repository by adding the remote repository information:

git remote add origin https://github.com/yourusername/your-repo-name.git

NOTE: You'll find the actual URL on the Github page of your remote project.

D: Push to GitHub

Push your commits to GitHub:

git push -u origin master

(for the first push; later, you can simply use git push)

Your local and remote repositories are now connected; you can now work locally, and push changes to the remote whenever you like.

E: Verify the Push

Go back to your repository on the GitHub website, and refresh the page. Your files should now be visible there.

F: Pull Changes

Even though nothing has changed in the remote repository, let's practice pulling the latest changes from there:

git pull origin main

This will fetch the changes from the remote main branch and merge them into your local branch.

You now have the following:

• A local repository with Git version control
• A remote Github repository connected to your local one, where you can push and pull changes from