In contrast to a GUI, or graphical user interface, the command line lets us tell our computer exactly what we want it to do using successive lines of text.
The commmand line is one of the primary ways of using Git on your computer. We're going to learn this method first so we can really grasp the concepts of Git (and feel like we have computational superpowers, making files appear out of thin air).
Mac: press the space bar and the command key at the same time and type in "terminal." Windows: launch the command prompt from the run window.
cd [name of directory or folder] will let you navigate inside a directory of your choosing.
Type cd Desktop and hit enter.
Now, cd ~ lets you go back a directory.
Practice going back and forth between your Desktop and your home directory. Experiment! The more you type the more natural the command line will feel.
Got lost?
pwd or "print working directory" will tell you where you are if you get a little lost.
End on your Desktop.
mkdir makes a new directory.
Type mkdir GitPractice and hit enter.
Click around to go check out your desktop and see your new folder.
Using cd, navigate inside the folder 'GitPractice.'
Type git init and hit enter.
This initializes the Git repository. Now, by using commands like git add and git commit, you can track changes to your documents.
Back in the command line, we're going to make a plain text markdown file.
Make sure you're navigated inside your GitPractice folder. Use cd or cd ~ as needed.
Now, type touch [name].md The '.md' extension means "markdown." You can use touch to create other types of files, too.
open [name].[extension] will let you get started.
Whatever text editor pops up should be the one that you set in your git config. To change this, edit the .git/config. I use TextWrangler. Write and save as usual. Remember how to open files (described right above!).