What is a Git repository?
Git is a program that tracks changes made to files. Once installed, Git can be initialized on a project to create a Git repository.
A Git repository is the .git/ folder inside a project. This repository tracks all changes made to files in your project, building a history over time. Meaning, if you delete the .git/ folder, then you delete your project’s history.
Watch this quick video or keep reading to learn what a Git repository is!
Download our Git GUI client for free, to easily work with your repos.
How does this work in GitKraken?
GitKraken will create the Git repository for you when you initialize a project.
Let’s say we just created a folder in Finder or File Explorer where we plan to build out our project. Now we can open GitKraken and navigate to the folder icon in the upper left, and then select the INIT tab.
Browse for the folder previously created, and click Initialize! This action creates the .git/ folder in your project, which watches and tracks changes to your files. This also includes any new files you add, rename, or remove from the repository.
Note: If you are on Mac, you may need to first enable the ability to show hidden folders before you can see the repository folder.
Bonus
What if you need to push a local repo to GitHub or a similar service? GitKraken lets you select the integration and then initialize it from within GitKraken.
This will then allow you to Push a local project up to this GitHub repo, once you update the upstream.
Simple enough, right? If you like this video, please subscribe to our YouTube channel or watch other videos in this series.