How to Push a Folder to GitHub – Step-by-Step Guide

Whether you’re starting a new project or uploading an existing one, pushing a local folder to GitHub helps you track changes, collaborate, and share your work. This guide walks you through the process from start to finish using Git and GitHub.

---

🛠️ Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:

• A GitHub account
• Git installed on your machine
• A local folder/project you want to upload

---

🚀 Steps to Push a Folder to GitHub

✅ 1. Create a Repository on GitHub

1. Go to GitHub
2. Click New repository
3. Enter a name, choose visibility (public/private), and click Create repository
4. Do not initialize with README if you’re pushing an existing folder

GitHub will now show you commands to push a project. Let’s do it locally.

---

📂 2. Open Terminal and Navigate to Your Folder

cd path/to/your-folder

This is the folder you want to push to GitHub.

---

🧰 3. Initialize a Git Repository

If this is not already a Git project:

git init

This creates a .git folder and begins tracking changes.

---

➕ 4. Add and Commit Your Files

git add .
git commit -m "Initial commit"

This stages and commits all files in the folder.

---

🌐 5. Add Remote Repository

Copy the URL of your GitHub repo (e.g., https://github.com/yourusername/your-repo.git) and run:

git remote add origin https://github.com/yourusername/your-repo.git

---

☁️ 6. Push to GitHub

git push -u origin main

If your local branch is named master, replace main with master:

git push -u origin master

You may be prompted to log in or authenticate via token or SSH, depending on your setup.

---

🎉 Done!

Visit your GitHub repository page — your folder and files should now be visible there.

---

🔁 Quick Summary

Step	Command
Navigate to folder	cd your-folder
Initialize Git	git init
Stage files	git add .
Commit changes	git commit -m "Initial commit"
Link to GitHub repo	git remote add origin <repo-url>
Push to GitHub	git push -u origin main

---

🧠 Pro Tips

• Add a .gitignore file to exclude unnecessary files (e.g., node_modules, *.log)
• Use SSH keys for secure and easy GitHub authentication
• For future pushes, use just: git add . git commit -m "Your message" git push