Week 10 | Setup Git in personal laptop

Class Details

📅 Date: 09 June, 2025
⏰ Time: 15:30h - 17:30h
📖 Synopsis: Set up Git in personal laptops and connect it to personal GitHub repositories for individual accounts.

Step-by-step guide for students to install Git on Windows, set up SSH keys,
configure Git to use the correct key, and connect to a private GitHub repository.

1. Install Git for Windows

  1. Go to: https://git-scm.com/download/win
  2. Download and run the installer.
  3. Use default settings, but when asked for:
    • “Choosing the default editor used by Git” → you can choose Notepad or Visual Studio Code.
    • “Choosing HTTPS transport backend” → choose Use OpenSSH.
  4. Finish the installation.

To verify Git is installed: Open Git Bash (you can find it in the Start Menu), and type:

git --version

2. Configure Your Git Identity

In Git Bash, enter your name and email (use the same email as used on GitHub):

git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "your@email.com"

3. Generate SSH Keys for GitHub

In Git Bash, run:

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "your@email.com" -f ~/.ssh/id_github
  • When prompted for a passphrase, press Enter to leave it empty.

This creates two files:

  • ~/.ssh/id_github (private key)
  • ~/.ssh/id_github.pub (public key)

4. Add the Public Key to Your GitHub Account

  1. Log in to https://github.com

  2. Go to Settings → SSH and GPG keys → New SSH key

  3. Title: For example My Windows Laptop

  4. In Git Bash, run:

    cat ~/.ssh/id_github.pub

    Copy the entire output (starting with ssh-ed25519) and paste it into GitHub.

  5. Click Add SSH key

5. Create or Edit SSH Config File

To ensure Git uses the correct key when connecting to GitHub:

  1. Open Git Bash

  2. Run:

    nano ~/.ssh/config

  3. Add the following:

    Host github.com
HostName github.com
User git
IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_github

  4. Save and exit (CTRL+O, Enter, then CTRL+X)

6. Test SSH Connection

In Git Bash, run:

ssh -T git@github.com

You should see a message like:

Hi yourusername! You've successfully authenticated...

7. Create a Private GitHub Repository

  1. Go to https://github.com and log in.

  2. Click the “+” icon (top right) → “New repository”

  3. Fill in:

    • Repository name: your-repo-name

    • Visibility: Private

    • Leave all checkboxes unchecked:

      • Add a README
      • Add .gitignore
      • Choose a license

  4. Click Create repository

  5. Click Code → Select SSH → Copy the link (e.g., git@github.com:yourusername/your-repo-name.git)

8. Create or Open a Local Project in RStudio

  1. In RStudio:

    • Go to File → New Project → New Directory → Empty Project
    • Name the folder and choose a location
    • Click Create Project

  2. Enable Git in the project:

    • Tools → Project Options → Git/SVN → Check Enable version control interface for this project

  3. In the RStudio Terminal (bottom pane), run:

git init
git remote add origin git@github.com:yourusername/your-repo-name.git

9. Make Initial Commit and Push to GitHub

  1. (Optional) Create a file locally, e.g., README.md or .R script.
  2. Run the following in the Terminal:
git add .
git commit -m "Initial commit"
git branch -M main
git push -u origin main

You are Done!

You can now:

  • Commit the changes to your local git repository;
  • Push the local commit history to your GitHub repo:
git add .
git commit -m "your message"
git push
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