Watch Git & GitHub Crash Course 2026 (From Zero + Free Cheat Sheet) Video Tutorial

Git and GitHub crash course 2026: init, commits, branches, merge vs rebase, pull requests and undoing mistakes — beginner to daily-driver. ▶ Full written tutorial (free): https://generalistprogrammer.com/tutorials/git-cheat-sheet?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description Git and GitHub, explained from absolute zero. By the end of this crash course you will understand what git actually is, make your first repository and commits, branch and merge, push to GitHub, open a pull request, and — the part almost nobody teaches beginners first — use the disaster-recovery safety net, so nothing you break is ever truly lost. No prior experience needed. We go in the order you would actually learn it. What's covered: - What git is: a distributed version control system. A repo is your project plus its full history of snapshots (commits). Git is local-first — your history lives in a hidden .git folder on your machine. GitHub is a remote that hosts a copy of your repo so you can back it up and collaborate. Git is the tool; GitHub is a place to put it (GitLab and Bitbucket do the same job). - Your first repo and commits: git init (start a repo, once), git status (what changed and what's staged), git add FILE or git add . (stage), git commit -m "message" (snapshot), git log --oneline (history). The three areas: working directory to staging area (the index) to repository. - Branches: a branch is a movable pointer to a commit. git branch NAME (create), git switch -c NAME (create and switch), git switch main (go back); git checkout is the older way. Why branch — isolate work so main stays stable. - Merge vs rebase: git merge NAME keeps both histories and adds a merge commit (safe on shared branches). git rebase main replays your commits on top of main for a clean linear history but REWRITES their hashes — so never rebase commits others already have (local-only). - GitHub and pull requests: git remote add origin URL, git push -u origin main (first push sets upstream), git clone URL, git pull. A pull request proposes merging your branch into main so teammates review before it lands. Fork vs clone. - The undo safety net: git commit --amend (fix the last commit), git reset --soft or --hard HEAD~1, git revert SHA (safe on shared branches), and the star of the show, git reflog, which recovers "lost" commits with git reset --hard HEAD@ n. Nothing you commit is ever truly lost. - The daily workflow: pull, branch, commit, push, open a PR, merge, delete the branch — the loop real teams run. Plus .gitignore to keep secrets and build artifacts out of your history. Free git and GitHub cheat sheet (every command here): https://generalistprogrammer.com/tutorials/git-cheat-sheet?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description Deep dive on undoing a commit: https://generalistprogrammer.com/tutorials/how-to-undo-a-git-commit?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description Want to go further? Git and GitHub Mastery Pack, 15 dollars, optional: https://generalistprogrammer.gumroad.com/l/git-github-mastery-pack?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description — Chapters — 0:00 Git & GitHub from zero 1:15 What is git? 2:48 Your first repo — init, add, commit 4:31 Branches 6:16 Merge vs rebase 8:00 GitHub — remote, push, clone, pull 9:40 Pull requests 11:14 The undo safety net 12:58 The daily workflow 14:38 Recap — the whole arc #git #github #gitcrashcourse