Are you one of those people who occasionally find using GitHub a bit of a headache?
I get it. At first glance, GitHub can seem intimidating—so many branches, pull requests, merges, conflicts… it’s easy to feel lost.
I’ve been there too. I often wondered whether I was following best practices or just making things messier for the team with every commit I pushed.
The good news is, it doesn’t have to be that way. With the right approach and a few key tips, GitHub can seamlessly integrate into your development workflow.
Whether you’re a complete beginner or someone overwhelmed by its countless features, GitHub is here for you.
WHY SHOULD YOU CARE ABOUT GITHUB?
GitHub is more than just a fancy cloud storage for code—it’s where the magic of collaboration happens.
It allows you to implement version control in the most efficient way possible, something every developer needs when working with a team to avoid stepping on each other’s toes. Mastering GitHub will make your life easier, whether you work solo or in a group.
BASIC WORKFLOW
Let’s go through a simple GitHub workflow. This assumes you have a basic understanding of Git, so we’ll focus on GitHub as a collaboration hub.
CREATING A NEW REPOSITORY
Go to your GitHub dashboard and click the “New Repository” button. Give it a cool name—maybe “super-cool-project” or something more professional if you’re working in a team.
CLONING TO YOUR LOCAL MACHINE
Now, clone this new repository to your local computer.
(Illustration: “GitHub Repo Clone”)
BRANCHING OUT
This is where many beginners struggle: branching. If you’re developing a new feature, always create a new branch from main (or master, depending on your default setup).
(Illustration: “Branching Out”)
MAKING CHANGES
Go ahead and do what you need—write great code, add some files, maybe fix a few bugs along the way.
COMMITTING AND PUSHING
Once you’re happy with the changes, stage them and commit. Remember the golden rule: write meaningful commit messages. Avoid vague messages like “fix stuff” or “final version control.”
(Illustration: “Commit and Push”)
CREATING A PULL REQUEST (PR)
After pushing your branch, it’s time to create a pull request on GitHub. This is a crucial step. PRs allow others to review your code, provide feedback, and discuss potential changes.
Go to your repository on GitHub, and you’ll see a big button that says something like “Compare & Pull Request.”
Click it, add a meaningful title, and write a clear description. Be specific—let your teammates know what you changed and why.
MERGING THE PULL REQUEST
Once your team has reviewed your code and you’ve addressed their feedback, merge the PR into the main branch. Voilà!
You’ve just successfully collaborated like a pro.
HANDLING MERGE CONFLICTS LIKE A “BOSS”
Merge conflicts are inevitable, but don’t let them stress you out. If two people edit the same part of a file, Git won’t know which version to keep. That’s where you come in.
When Git notifies you of a conflict, it will mark the conflicting parts in the file. You’ll see something like this:
(Illustration: “Handling Merge Conflicts”)
Simply decide which code to keep, or merge both in a logical way, save the file, and commit again. That’s it!
GITHUB ACTIONS: AUTOMATE YOUR WORKFLOW
Another game-changing feature on GitHub is GitHub Actions. Why waste time manually running tests, building code, or deploying updates when GitHub can do it for you?
Actions allow you to automate almost anything in your workflow.
For example, you can set up GitHub Actions to automatically run tests every time a pull request is created, ensuring no buggy code gets merged. You can even set up continuous deployment to push changes to production once they pass all tests.
Here’s a basic setup for an action that runs tests on your code:
(Illustration: “GitHub Actions”)
This means that every time you push to main, GitHub will run tests for you—like a little assistant reminding you, “Hey, let me check if everything’s still good to go.”
FINAL THOUGHTS
GitHub is your best friend in the world of version control and collaboration. With features like branching, pull requests, and GitHub Actions, it provides everything you need to work effectively with others—or even just by yourself.
It’s not as scary as it seems. Stick to good practices, keep things organized, and soon, you’ll be committing, merging, and collaborating like a seasoned developer.
Key takeaways:
Use meaningful branch names and commit messages.
Don’t fear pull requests—they’re your safety net.
Handle merge conflicts with confidence, not panic.
Automate testing with GitHub Actions to save time.
And remember: no matter how great GitHub is, it’s the people using it that create the real magic.
Have a good day!
From the blog CS@Worcester – Nguyen Technique by Nguyen Vuong and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.
