Lab 00: Version Control with Git

Objective

Configure Git, initialize a repository, stage and commit files, and view commit history.

Prerequisites

• A terminal application:
  • macOS: Terminal.app (pre-installed in Applications > Utilities)
  • Windows: Git Bash (bundled with Git for Windows)
  • Linux: Terminal (pre-installed)
• Module 02 (The Command Line) for basic terminal skills
• Git installed:
  • macOS: xcode-select --install or download from git-scm.com
  • Windows: Download from git-scm.com
  • Linux: sudo apt install git or sudo dnf install git

Duration

10 to 12 minutes

Instructions

Step 1: Configure Git and Initialize a Repository (~5 min)

In this step you set up Git and create a new repository.

Create a working directory:

mkdir -p it-fundamentals-lab
cd it-fundamentals-lab

Configure Git (one-time setup):

If you have never used Git on this computer, run these two commands to set your name and email. Git attaches this information to every commit you make.

git config --global user.name "Your Name"

git config --global user.email "you@example.com"

Replace Your Name and you@example.com with your actual name and email address. These commands produce no output.

Initialize a Git repository:

git init

Expected output:

Initialized empty Git repository in /Users/student/it-fundamentals-lab/.git/

This creates a hidden .git folder that tracks all changes in the directory.

Create two files to work with:

echo "Hello from the command line" > hello.txt
echo "This is my first note" > my-notes.txt

These commands produce no output.

Check the status of your repository:

git status

Expected output:

On branch main
No commits yet
Untracked files:
  (use "git add <file>..." to include in what will be committed)
	hello.txt
	my-notes.txt

nothing added to commit but untracked files present (use "git add" to track)

Git sees the two files but is not tracking them yet.

✅Tip: If your output shows On branch master instead of On branch main, that is fine. Older versions of Git use master as the default branch name.

Step 2: Stage, Commit, and View History (~5-7 min)

In this step you stage files, create commits, and view the commit history.

Stage all files for commit:

git add .

This command produces no output. The . means "add everything in the current directory."

Check the status again:

git status

Expected output:

On branch main
No commits yet
Changes to be committed:
  (use "git rm --cached <file>..." to unstage)
	new file:   hello.txt
	new file:   my-notes.txt

Both files are now staged and ready to be committed.

Create your first commit:

git commit -m "Add initial files"

Expected output:

[main (root-commit) a1b2c3d] Add initial files
 2 files changed, 2 insertions(+)
 create mode 100644 hello.txt
 create mode 100644 my-notes.txt

Your commit hash (the a1b2c3d part) will be different. That is normal.

Edit a file and commit the change:

Append a new line to hello.txt:

echo "Updated content" >> hello.txt

This command produces no output. The >> operator appends text to the file instead of overwriting it.

Stage and commit the change:

git add hello.txt

git commit -m "Update hello.txt"

Expected output:

[main b2c3d4e] Update hello.txt
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+)

View the commit history:

git log --oneline

Expected output:

b2c3d4e Update hello.txt
a1b2c3d Add initial files

Your commit hashes will be different, but you should see two commits listed with the most recent one on top.

Validation

Confirm the following before moving on:

• Running git log --oneline inside the directory shows at least two commits
• Running git status shows a clean working tree (no uncommitted changes)
• The hello.txt file contains two lines of text

Cleanup

Remove the lab directory when you are finished:

macOS/Linux:

cd ~
rm -r it-fundamentals-lab

Windows (Git Bash):

cd ~
rm -r it-fundamentals-lab

Windows (PowerShell):

cd $HOME
Remove-Item -Recurse -Force it-fundamentals-lab

No cloud resources were created during this lab. No further cleanup is needed.

Challenge (Optional)

1. Create a new Git branch called feature/add-readme, add a README.md file, commit it, and switch back to main:

   git checkout -b feature/add-readme
   echo "# My Lab Project" > README.md
   git add README.md
   git commit -m "Add README"
   git checkout main
   

2. Run git log --all --oneline --graph to see a visual representation of your branches and commits.

3. Try git diff after editing a file but before staging it to see what changed.

AWS Bootcamp: From Novice to Architect Author: Samuel Ogunti License: CC BY-NC 4.0