Install Git

Introduction

Now we're ready to start learning the command line! But before we begin, let's download Git. Git is a version control system that we will be using in the Git and Markdown module that follows this module. It's important for Windows users, especially, to download Git now because you'll be using Git Bash for your command line practice.

Find your operating system below and click the associated link to go to a site where you'll be able to download Git.

For Windows:

• Download Git for Windows.
• Follow the installation prompts (accept the default settings at each step).
• Open up Git Bash - this is the command line tool you will use for this module's lessons.
  • Note: When opening Git Bash, right click the desktop icon and select "Run as administrator"

For Mac:

• Open a terminal window. You can use Spotlight and start typing "Terminal" to find it.
• Type git install and press Enter.
• You will see a pop up window with a message about XCode and Command Line Tools. Just click the "Install" button, and agree to the terms.
• After the installation is complete, type exit in the terminal. Then select "Quit Terminal" from the main terminal menu, or press Command + q.
• Then reopen terminal and check that git is installed by entering the command git --version.

For Linux:

Atlassian Git Tutorial for Linux

Additional help

If you need additional instructions on installing Git, please check out this Atlassian Git Tutorial.

Learning Objectives for the Command Line

You will learn many useful commands from the lessons in this module, but there are some you will use with greater frequency than others. So here is a list to help you prioritize which commands you should practice the most. Make sure you've mastered these commands by the end of this module:

• cd
• ls
• mkdir
• touch
• open (Mac) or start (Git Bash)
• cp
• mv
• rm and rmdir
• cat
• echo $PATH

Reminder

Be sure to check out the Resources page for more command line learning tools!

Back to Command Line Lesson Menu