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Git Integration

This page provides a brief introduction to Git and describes the most important commands for working with Git in JupyterHub.

What is Git?

Git is a tool for managing projects, collaborating with others, and tracking changes to code or notebooks. As a version control system, Git logs changes to files and makes it possible to track the development of a project and revert to earlier versions if necessary.

Why Use Git?

  • Track Changes: Git records every change you make to your files, so you can easily see what you've modified or revert to a previous version.
  • Collaborate with Others: For group projects, Git allows multiple people to work on the same project at the same time without overwriting each other's changes.
  • Reproducibility: Git stores the history of code, thereby ensuring the reproducibility of work.
  • Backup: Repositories on GitHub or GitLab can serve as backups in case local copies are lost or damaged.

1. Getting Started with Git

Installing Git

Install Git as follows, depending on your operating system:

  • Windows: Download the Git installer from Git for Windows and run the setup.
  • macOS: Install Git via Homebrew using the command brew install git or use the installer for macOS.
  • Linux: Install Git via the package manager. For Ubuntu: 
    sudo apt-get install git

Configuring Git

Once Git is installed, configure it with your user information:

git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "your-email@example.com"
This information will be used to track your commits. A commit saves changes to the repository and includes a brief message describing the changes made.

2. Basic Git Commands

Cloning a Repository

When you clone a repository, a copy of a remote repository—such as a project on GitHub—is downloaded to your computer. Clone a repository using the following command:

git clone https://github.com/your-repository.git

Check the Status of Your Project

Check the status of the repository using the following command:

git status

Tracking Changes

Once you've made changes to your files, you can stage and commit them.

Staging Changes

Add the desired files to the "staging area" before committing using the following command:

git add <filename>
In order to add all changes run this command: 
git add .

Committing Changes

Once the changes are in the staging area, create a commit using the following command:

git commit -m "Description of changes made"

Pushing Changes to Remote Repository

After committing locally, use the following command to push the changes to the remote repository (e.g., GitHub) so that they are available to others:

git push origin main
This command uploads your commits to the main branch of the remote repository.

Pulling Changes from Remote Repository

Update the local repository using the following command:

git pull origin main
This uploads the commits to the main branch of the remote repository.

3. Branching and Merging

Git allows you to work on separate branches to develop new features without affecting the main codebase.

Creating a Branch

A new branch can be created using the following command:

git checkout -b new-feature
This creates a new branch and switches to it.

Switching Branches

You can switch to an existing branch using the following command:

git checkout main

Merging Branches

Once the changes have been completed in your branch, you can merge them into the main branch using the following command:

git checkout main
git merge new-feature
If there are any conflicts, Git will notify you to resolve them before completing the merge.

4. Collaborating with Git

Forking a Repository

If you want to contribute to a project, you can fork the repository on GitHub. This creates your own copy of the repository where you can make changes without affecting the original project.

Creating a Pull Request

Once you've made changes, you can submit a pull request (PR) to propose your changes to the original repository.

  1. Navigate to the original repository.
  2. Click the “Pull Request” button.
  3. Select the appropriate branch and submit the PR with a description of the changes.

5. Git in JupyterHub

Git is already preinstalled in the JupyterHub environments and can be used via the command line (terminal).

You can test the installation of Git through typing git version in terminal.

6. Troubleshooting

What to Do if You See Merge Conflicts

Merge conflicts occur when changes in two branches cannot be automatically merged. Here’s how to resolve them:

  1. Open the affected file to view the conflicted lines. Git marks the affected lines with conflict markers.

  2. Manually edit the file to resolve the conflict.

    • Git inserts three markers in each file with a conflict:

    <<<<<<< HEAD – Start of the local (current) section

    ======= – Separator

    >>>>>>> <branch‑name> – Start of the incoming section

    • Open the file in an editor (e.g., VS Code, IntelliJ, vim).

    • Decide which version you want to keep, or combine both.

    • Remove all conflict markers (<<<<<<<, =======, >>>>>>>).
    • Save the file.

  3. Add the file to the staging area and commit it using the following command: 

    git add <filename>
git commit -m "Resolved merge conflict"

Undoing the Last Commit

If you made a mistake in your last commit and want to undo it, you can use:

git reset --soft HEAD~1
This reverts the commit, but the changes remain in the staging area and can be committed again.