Git for Data Scientists & Data Engineers — my very first beginner guide (Git Bash + GitHub)

Source: Dev.to

Hi, I’m Charles Ndungu. I recently started learning data science and analytics. I’ve never used Git before, but I wanted to share my very first experience with Git and GitHub, step‑by‑step, so other beginners like me can follow along.

Repo:

TL;DR

Git tracks changes to files. GitHub stores your tracked projects online. Learn the basic flow:

init → add → commit → push → pull

That’s enough to start working confidently and share work with others.

Why Git matters (short)

• Reproducibility – you can go back to any previous version.
• Collaboration – multiple people can work without overwriting each other.
• Safety – experiment on branches, revert mistakes.
• Professional – it’s expected in data teams.

What you’ll need

• Windows (these steps use Git Bash) – macOS/Linux users can use Terminal.
• A GitHub account
• Git Bash installed
• (Optional) VS Code to edit files

Very simple mental model

Step 1 — Install Git Bash (Windows) — quick

1. Download from the official site → pick Windows.
2. Run the installer → accept defaults. When asked, choose OpenSSH.
3. Open Git Bash from Start → Git → Git Bash.

Step 2 — Minimal setup (one‑time)

Open Git Bash and run:

git --version
git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "you@example.com"
git config --list

Step 3 — First local project — the exact commands I ran

# create project folder and enter it
mkdir ~/git-basics-practice
cd ~/git-basics-practice

# create a tiny file
echo "hello from git bash" > hello.txt

# start Git in this folder
git init

# check status
git status

# track the file
git add hello.txt

# save a snapshot
git commit -m "Add hello.txt"

# check history
git log --oneline

Step 4 — Create a GitHub repo & push (real moment)

1. On GitHub click + → New repository.
2. Name it git-basics-practice.
3. Do NOT initialize a README or .gitignore.

Authentication notes

• GitHub no longer accepts account passwords on the command line. Use a Personal Access Token (PAT) instead of your password if prompted.
• Alternatively, set up SSH keys (recommended long‑term): add the public key to GitHub → Settings → SSH and GPG keys.

Push the local repo

git remote add origin https://github.com/your-username/git-basics-practice.git
git branch -M main
git push -u origin main

Troubleshooting — real things I saw (and how to fix)

• fatal: User canceled device code authentication – If you close the browser prompt, Git may fall back to asking for username/PAT. Re‑run git push and use a PAT or set up SSH.
• Permission denied (publickey) – SSH key missing on GitHub. Add your id_ed25519.pub to GitHub → Settings → SSH keys.
• 404 when opening the repo in a browser – Check the exact repo name and whether it’s private. I once had an extra . at the end of my remote URL (...git-basics-practice..git), which created a repo name with a trailing dot and gave a confusing 404. Always verify with git remote -v.

Step 5 — Pulling changes (download)

If someone edits the repo or you edit on GitHub, bring changes down with:

git pull origin main

Short cheat‑sheet (commands to remember)

git init                 # start tracking a folder
git status               # see file status
git add                  # stage file
git commit -m "msg"      # save snapshot
git log --oneline        # view history
git remote -v           # show remotes
git push -u origin main # upload commits
git pull origin main    # download commits
git checkout -b name    # create + switch branch

A tiny real lesson (my raw beginner moment)

I pushed successfully, but when I opened my repo in the browser I got a 404. I later discovered my remote URL had an extra dot (git-basics-practice..git) so the repo name ended up with a trailing dot. Git still accepted the push, but the usual browser link (without the dot) returned 404. If you hit 404, run git remote -v and make sure the URL is exactly what you expect.