How to get started with GitHub Desktop for a seamless Git workflow

3 years ago 303

If you request to enactment with GitHub, but don't person clip to get up to velocity with the git bid line, Jack Wallen believes the GitHub Desktop app is the cleanable instrumentality for the job.

Git is hands down, the astir widely-used mentation power strategy connected the planet. With Git, you tin lend to and collaborate connected projects of immoderate benignant and size. But if you're caller to the satellite of Git, you mightiness find utilizing the bid enactment a spot inefficient. You mightiness person travel from a precise GUI-centric platform, wherever everything was point-and-click. Or you simply don't person clip to larn the ins and outs of the Git bid enactment tools.

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If that sounds similar you, past GitHub Desktop mightiness beryllium the perfect solution to person you up and moving with a seamless Git workflow successful nary time.

GitHub Desktop is disposable for Linux, macOS, and Windows and makes it casual to:

Attribute commits
Checkout branches
View each unfastened propulsion requests
Create oregon clone repositories
Upload section repositories

GitHub Desktop features a elemental workflow that anyone tin follow, a precise elemental (and helpful) onboarding wizard, syntax highlighting erstwhile viewing diffs for respective languages, extended exertion features and ammunition integrations, expanded representation diff support, and overmuch more. The 1 happening GitHub Desktop cannot bash (within the app itself) is unfastened propulsion requests. When you spell to unfastened a propulsion request, it volition unfastened your default browser to the propulsion petition enactment successful your GitHub repository.

So, if you're looking for a mode to commencement your GitHub journey, this is the instrumentality you need.

Let's get GitHub Desktop installed and link it with your GitHub account.

What you'll need

I'll beryllium demonstrating the installation with Pop!_OS Linux, but the app tin beryllium installed connected conscionable astir immoderate Debian-based, RHEL-based, oregon SUSE-based Linux distribution. It tin besides beryllium easy installed connected macOS oregon Windows. To instal connected Linux, you'll request an relationship with sudo privileges. You'll besides request either a GitHub oregon a GitHub Enterprise account.

How to instal GitHub Desktop

I'm going to show installing GitHub Desktop connected Pop!_OS Linux. Installing the instrumentality connected macOS and Windows is arsenic elemental arsenic downloading and moving the installer for either Windows oregon macOS. For Linux, it requires a fewer other steps. Here they are for Debian and Ubuntu-based distributions.

First, adhd the indispensable GPG cardinal with the command:

wget -qO - https://packagecloud.io/shiftkey/desktop/gpgkey | sudo tee /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/shiftkey-desktop.asc > /dev/null

Next, make a caller repository introduction with the command:

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb [arch=amd64] https://packagecloud.io/shiftkey/desktop/any/ immoderate main" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/packagecloud-shiftkey-desktop.list'

Update apt with:

sudo apt-get update

Finally, instal GitHub desktop with:

sudo apt instal github-desktop -y

For RHEL-based distributions (such arsenic Fedora, AlmaLinux, and Rocky Linux), the steps are:

Install the GPG key:

sudo rpm --import https://packagecloud.io/shiftkey/desktop/gpgkey

Add the indispensable repository information:

sudo sh -c 'echo -e "[shiftkey]\nname=GitHub Desktop\nbaseurl=https://packagecloud.io/shiftkey/desktop/el/7/\$basearch\nenabled=1\ngpgcheck=0\nrepo_gpgcheck=1\ngpgkey=https://packagecloud.io/shiftkey/desktop/gpgkey" > /etc/yum.repos.d/shiftkey-desktop.repo'

Install GitHub Desktop with 1 of the pursuing commands (depending connected the bundle manager you use):

sudo yum instal github-desktop -y sudo dnf instal github-desktop -y

How to get started with GitHub Desktop

Upon palmy installation, motorboat GitHub Desktop. The archetypal model (Figure A) required you either motion into GitHub oregon GitHub Enterprise.

Figure A

Clicking either fastener volition redirect you to your web browser. Make definite you're signed successful to your GitHub relationship and then, erstwhile prompted, authorize the desktop app for usage (Figure B).

Figure B

You volition past beryllium prompted to corroborate entree to the account. Once you've taken attraction of that, you volition past request to let the github.com tract to unfastened x-github-desktop-dev-auth nexus (Linux only). For this, each you should person to bash is click Choose Application and past click Open Link (Figure C).

Figure C

Once you've taken attraction of that, you should find yourself backmost astatine the GitHub Desktop exertion (Figure D).

Figure D

Walk done the wizard until you onshore connected the GitHub "let's get started" model (Figure E), wherever you'll find a precise well-designed introductory tutorial.

Figure E

Click Create a tutorial repository and the app volition unfastened to the main model (Figure F). Follow the bluish arrow prompts that locomotion you done installing a substance exertion (which astir apt won't beryllium needed, arsenic you should already person one), creating a caller branch, editing a file, making a commit, publishing to GitHub, and opening a propulsion request. After you've stepped done that onboarding, you volition beryllium acceptable to commencement moving with GitHub, via a precise well-designed and user-friendly GUI.

Figure F

And that's however you get started with the GitHub Desktop application. For anyone who needs to enactment with GitHub, but doesn't privation to woody with the git bid line, this is the instrumentality you need. GitHub Desktop makes moving with GitHub casual capable for immoderate idiosyncratic of immoderate accomplishment level.

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