How to Open Git Bash on Windows: A Beginner’s Guide

If you’re getting started with Git on Windows, one of the best tools at your disposal is Git Bash. Git Bash provides a Unix-style terminal that allows you to run Git commands and use many standard Unix command-line utilities. It’s especially helpful for developers who prefer a command-line interface for managing their Git repositories.

In this article, we’ll walk you through how to open Git Bash and use it effectively.

Table of Contents

🛠 What Is Git Bash?

Git Bash is an application for Microsoft Windows that emulates a bash shell environment. It lets you:

Run Git commands
Use Unix-style tools like ls, grep, cat, and more
Execute shell scripts

It comes bundled when you install Git for Windows.

✅ Step-by-Step: How to Open Git Bash

🔹 Step 1: Install Git for Windows

If you haven’t already installed Git Bash:

Go to https://git-scm.com
Click Download for Windows
Run the installer and follow the setup steps
- When prompted, choose “Git Bash” as your preferred terminal emulator (optional)

Once installed, Git Bash will be available in your system.

🔹 Step 2: Open Git Bash

There are multiple ways to open Git Bash:

✔️ Method 1: From the Start Menu

Click the Start button or press the Windows key
Type Git Bash
Click on the Git Bash app from the search results

✔️ Method 2: From Right-Click Context Menu

You can open Git Bash directly from any folder:

Right-click on the folder where you want to run Git
Select Git Bash Here from the context menu

This opens Git Bash with the current directory set to the selected folder.

✔️ Method 3: Using Run Command

Press Win + R to open the Run dialog
Type bash or git-bash and press Enter

🧠 Useful Git Bash Commands

Here are a few basic Git Bash commands to get you started:

Command	Description
`git --version`	Check Git version
`git clone <url>`	Clone a remote repository
`git status`	Check status of the repository
`ls`	List files in current directory
`cd <folder>`	Change directory
`clear`	Clear the terminal screen

✅ Summary

Task	Action
Open Git Bash from Start	Search for “Git Bash”
Open from a folder	Right-click → “Git Bash Here”
Open via Run dialog	Run `bash` or `git-bash`
Install Git Bash	Download from git-scm.com

🚀 Final Thoughts

Git Bash is a powerful tool that brings the full capabilities of Git and a Unix-style terminal to Windows. Once you’ve opened Git Bash, you’re ready to start managing your repositories, running scripts, and using command-line tools with ease.