How to Add Code to GitHub

GitHub is a powerful platform for hosting code, collaborating with others, and managing version control. This guide walks you through adding code to GitHub using Git.

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🧰 Prerequisites

• ✅ Git installed
• ✅ A GitHub account
• ✅ An existing project folder with your code

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🛠️ Step-by-Step Instructions

🔹 1. Create a Repository on GitHub

1. Log in to GitHub
2. Click New repository
3. Fill in:
   • Repository name
   • Description (optional)
   • Visibility: Public or Private
4. DO NOT initialize with README, .gitignore, or license (since you’ll push an existing project)

Click Create repository.

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🔹 2. Open Terminal and Navigate to Your Project

cd path/to/your-project

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🔹 3. Initialize Git (if not already done)

git init

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🔹 4. Add and Commit Your Files

git add .
git commit -m "Initial commit"

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🔹 5. Connect to GitHub Repository

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

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

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🔹 6. Push Code to GitHub

If your default branch is main:

git branch -M main
git push -u origin main

Replace main with master if your repo uses that as the default.

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🧠 Optional Tips

• Use .gitignore to exclude unnecessary files (e.g., node_modules, .env)
• Create a README.md for project documentation
• Use git status and git log to track changes

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📌 Summary

Task	Command/Action
Create GitHub repo	On github.com
Initialize Git	git init
Stage files	git add .
Commit changes	git commit -m "Initial commit"
Connect to GitHub	git remote add origin <repo-url>
Push to GitHub	git push -u origin main