Version control lets developers track changes over time, and Git is the most popular distributed system. Every contributor keeps a full history locally, works offline, and syncs later. Beginners gain quick undo, clear authorship, safe experimentation with branches, and seamless collaboration on platforms like GitHub.

Installing Git is straightforward: download the installer for Windows, Mac, or Linux from git-scm.com, or use Homebrew or apt. The bundled Git Bash gives a Linux‑style terminal on Windows, while SSH keys replace passwords, letting you push code without repeated logins.

Once configured, you set your name and email with git config, then create a repo on GitHub. Local commits are staged with git add and saved via git commit. To share work, git push uploads to the remote; a pull request on GitHub lets teammates review and merge changes, keeping the main branch clean.

Generating an SSH key with ssh-keygen and adding it to the SSH agent unlocks passwordless authentication. After adding the public key to your GitHub settings, test with ssh -T [email protected]. Finally, link your local folder to the remote with git remote add origin, then push the initial commit and start branching for experiments.