| Branch |
A separate line of development that lets you work on changes without affecting the main codebase. Once your work is ready, you can merge it back in. |
| Clone |
Downloads a copy of a remote repository onto your local machine, giving you the full project history so you can start making changes right away. |
| Commit |
A saved snapshot of your changes at a point in time, with a message describing what changed. |
| Conflict |
Occurs when two branches change the same part of a file and Git can't automatically decide which version to keep. You'll need to manually resolve it. |
| Directory |
A folder on your computer. In Git and the terminal, you'll navigate between directories to get to your project files. |
| Git |
A free, open-source version control system that tracks changes to your code over time, letting you save snapshots, revert mistakes, and collaborate with others. |
| GitHub |
A website that hosts Git repositories in the cloud. Widely used for sharing projects, building portfolios, and collaborating with other developers. |
| Merge |
Combines changes from one branch into another - like bringing a finished feature branch back into the main branch. |
| Push |
Uploads your local commits to a remote repository, so your work is backed up and visible to others. |
| Repository |
A folder tracked by Git that contains all your project files plus the entire history of every change ever made to them. |
| Stage |
Marks specific changes to be included in your next commit. Lets you choose exactly what gets saved rather than committing everything at once. |
| Terminal |
A text-based interface (also called the command prompt) used instead of a Graphic User Interface (GUI). It's how developers run Git commands, navigate folders, and interact with their projects. |
| VS Code |
A popular, free code editor made by Microsoft with built-in Git support and a huge library of extensions. |