# Making your first commit

With the explanation and background context covered in the previous pages, these next few sections will walk you through working with a Git repository. 

First, make sure you have git. You can do this by running `git --version`in your terminal. If you get an error message, you don't have it, or it's not set up properly and you should get it from [here](https://git-scm.com/downloads). As with any tool you install, don't forget to add it to your `PATH`.

To start, make a new directory and run `git init`inside of it

<pre class="language-bash"><code class="lang-bash">$ mkdir repo
$ cd repo
<strong>$ git init
</strong></code></pre>

Next, let's add a simple Hello World in Python

{% code title="hello.py" %}

```python
print("Hello, World!")
```

{% endcode %}

{% hint style="info" %}
Git strongly prefers that your files end with a blank new line. The code samples here won't show them, but in your IDE, be sure to do so, Otherwise, you might see subtle complaints from Git in various places.
{% endhint %}

Now let's see what Git has to say

```bash
$ git status
# On branch master
# 
# No commits yet
# Untracked files: 
#   (use "git add <file>..." to include in what will be committed)
#     hello.py
# 
# nothing added to commit but untracked files present (use "git add" to track) 
```

Let's break this down:&#x20;

> On branch `master`

Git will always start by reminding you what branch you're on. In this case, that's `master`, but convention is actually to use `main` . Let's create that:&#x20;

```bash
$ git switch --create main
# Switched to a new branch 'main'
```

Moving on:&#x20;

> nothing added to commit but untracked files present (use `git add`to track)

Git won't touch any files it doesn't already know about (called **tracked files**), so let's add our new file:&#x20;

<pre class="language-bash"><code class="lang-bash">$ git add hello.py
$ git status
<strong># On branch main
</strong># 
# No commits yet
#
# Changes to be committed:
<strong>#   (use "git rm --cached &#x3C;file>..." to unstage)
</strong>#         new file:   hello.py
</code></pre>

Now we're on the `main`branch, and we no longer have a warning about untracked files. Now Git is ready to commit, so let's make a new commit with a message:&#x20;

```bash
$ git commit --message "Added Hello World"
# [main (root-commit) e96ab34] Added Hello World
#  1 file changed, 1 insertion(+)
#  create mode 100644 hello.py
```

{% hint style="success" %}
You can use `git commit -m "your message"` and `git switch -c` as shorthand
{% endhint %}

The output here confirms your branch, commit ID (also called the **commit hash**), message, and what changed. Running `git status`confirms that our commit went through and that we're clear to start making more changes:&#x20;

<pre class="language-bash"><code class="lang-bash">$ git status
# On branch main
<strong># nothing to commit, working tree clean
</strong></code></pre>

Now that you've set up your repository and branch, the process will be the same for future changes: make changes, `git add`the files, then `git commit`with a message. Let's review that last commit

```bash
$ git show
# commit e96ab344b7b1a8499fcb01f9f39f943c31dc111e (HEAD -> main)
# Author: Levi Lesches <levilesches@gmail.com>
# Date:   Fri Apr 4 02:46:55 2025 -0400
# 
#     Added Hello World
# 
# diff --git a/hello.py b/hello.py
# new file mode 100644
# index 0000000..7df869a
# --- /dev/null
# +++ b/hello.py
# @@ -0,0 +1 @@
# +print("Hello, World!")
```

This has a lot of output, but you can clearly see the commit ID, author, date, message, which files were edited and even the diff for each file.&#x20;


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://bing-rover.gitbook.io/docs/software/onboarding-course/git-course/making-your-first-commit.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.