Stage 6 of 8 · 8 lessons · ~2 weeks

GitHub and working with others

Connect local repositories to GitHub with SSH keys, and work the way teams do: branches, pull requests, reviews, keeping forks up to date and the GitHub CLI.

Start: Remotes: clone, fetch, pull and push

Lessons· one lesson for each topic, in this order

Do this

Create an ed25519 SSH key with a passphrase, add it to GitHub and test with `ssh -T git@github.com`.
Turn on two-factor authentication for your GitHub account.
Push a project and open a pull request with a proper description, then merge it.
Install `gh`, log in and open a pull request from the terminal.
Fork a project, add `upstream`, sync it and open a small pull request.
Review a classmate's pull request with at least three constructive comments.
Delete merged branches locally and on GitHub.

Start with· follow one of these

BookFree
Pro Git
Scott Chacon and Ben Straub
Chapter 6 covers GitHub itself: forks, pull requests and maintaining a project
GuideFree
Contributing to a Project (GitHub Docs)
GitHub · Beginner
GitHub's own walkthrough of the fork, branch and pull request workflow

Practise

First Contributions
A safe repository built for making your first pull request to someone else's project

Keep handy

Connecting to GitHub with SSH (GitHub Docs)
Official steps for generating, adding and testing SSH keys on each operating system
GitHub CLI
The gh manual for pull requests, issues and CI from the terminal

Also worth your time

Conventional CommitsRead
A widely used commit message convention you will meet in many repositories
roadmap.sh: Git and GitHubGo deeper
The GitHub half of the map: Actions, projects, security features and more

Before moving on: Two merged pull requests: one to a repository of your own using GitHub flow with a written description and a self-review, and one to someone else's project from a fork (documentation fixes count), both opened or checked with the GitHub CLI.

Tauseef's advice

Your pull requests are part of your portfolio, so write them like a colleague will read them. Small, clear pull requests get merged; huge ones get ignored. Review other people's work too: reading code with a question in mind teaches you more than writing it alone.