How to Use Git
In the first part of this series, we have discussed about the history, use and concepts of Git. To actually use Git, we need to have the program installed in our system. Let’s see how to install Git in various platforms like MacOS, Windows and Linux.
Installation
How to Install Git on MacOS
There are several ways of installing Git in MacOS. In fact, if XCode or its CLI (Command Line Interface) is installed, their is a fair chance that Git has already been installed along with it. To find out if your MacOS has Git installed, open the Terminal and enter the following code:
If it is installed in your Mac, it will return the Git version; if not, it will show the following message:
Click on the install button to install developer tools required to use Git on your Mac. The developer tools include XCode and XCode App Development utilities.
Install Git with Homebrew
Homebrew is a popular package manager for MacOS and Linux. If you do not have Homebrew in your Mac, you can install the same with the following command:
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| /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
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Once installed, make sure you update to the latest version with the following command:
Finally, once Homebrew is installed and updated, enter the following command to install Git:
Install Git with MacPorts
If you already have MacPorts installed to manage packages on MacOS, use the following instructions to install Git:
- Update MacPorts from the Terminal
- Search for the latest Git ports and variations:
- Install Git with bash completion, the OS X keychain helper, and the docs:
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| sudo port install git +bash_completion+credential_osxkeychain+doc
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How to Install Git on Windows
If you are a Windows user, it is easy to install Git with the standalone installer. Download the latest Git Installer for Windows. Double click on the installer to start the installation process. When you see the install prompt, click on Yes button, agree to the terms and follow the Next and Finish prompts to complete the installation. The default options are suitable for most users.
You can now use the Windows Command Prompt or Git Bash to start using Git.
How to Install Git on Linux with Package Managers
Check first to see if Git is already installed in your system with
If already installed, it will return the Git version, if not, it will give the following error:
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| -bash: git: command not found
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Installing Git on Ubuntu or Debian
For Ubuntu or Debian, Git packages are available through APT (Advanced Package Tool).
To install Git using apt-get, first run the update command.
Then run the install command.
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| sudo apt-get install git
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And finally verify the installation was successful by running the version command.
If successfully installed, it will return the Git version.
Installing Git on Fedora
For Fedora, Git packages are available through dnf and yum.
For dnf, use the following command from the shell
or the following for yum
Verify the installation was successful by running the version command.
If successfully installed, it will return the Git version.
Installing Git on CentOS
For CentOS, Git can be installed using yum, similar to Fedora.
Installing Git on Arch Linux
Arch Linux uses pacman to install Git with the following command:
Installing Git on Gentoo
For Gentoo, use emerge to install Git.
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| sudo emerge --ask --verbose dev-vcs/git
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How to Install Git on Linux from Source
For Ubuntu / Debian
- Install necessary dependencies using apt-get.
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| sudo apt-get install libcurl4-gnutls-dev libexpat1-dev gettext libz-dev libssl-dev asciidoc xmlto docbook2x
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| git clone https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/git/git.git
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- To build Git and install it under /usr, run make:
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| make all doc info prefix=/usr
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| sudo make install install-doc install-html install-info install-man prefix=/usr
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For Fedora
- You can install the necessary build dependencies with dnf from your shell:
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| sudo dnf install curl-devel expat-devel gettext-devel openssl-devel perl-devel zlib-devel asciidoc xmlto docbook2X
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Or if you are using yum, you may need to install the Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux (EPEL) repository first:
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| sudo yum install epel-release
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| sudo yum install curl-devel expat-devel gettext-devel openssl-devel perl-devel zlib-devel asciidoc xmlto docbook2X
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- Symlink docbook2X to the filename that the Git build expects:
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| sudo ln -s /usr/bin/db2x_docbook2texi /usr/bin/docbook2x-texi
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| git clone https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/git/git.git
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- To build Git and install it under /usr, run make:
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| make all doc prefix=/usr
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| sudo make install install-doc install-html install-man prefix=/usr
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For CentOS
- Install dependencies first:
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| sudo yum group install "Development tools"
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| sudo yum install gettext-devel openssl-devel perl-CPAN perl-devel zlib-devel
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Next, from Git’s release page select a stable Git version (one without an -rc suffix) you prefer to install.
Once you have selected the preferred Git version, right click and copy the link of the file with the tar.gz extension.
Download the selected url with wget:
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| wget https://github.com/git/git/archive/refs/tags/v2.37.2.tar.gz -O gitdownloadversion.tar.gz
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This command downloads v2.37.2.tar.gz as gitdownloadversion.tar.gz.
- Use the following command to unpack the file using
tar, then decompress and extract the file using -zxf option:
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| tar -zxf gitdownloadversion.tar.gz
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- Change directory to the new unpacked folder:
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| cd gitdownloadversion-*
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- To compile the downloaded Git files, create a Makefile:
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| make configure
./configure --prefix=/usr/local
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- When Makefile is ready, compile and install:
- Verify the installation was successful by running the version command.
If successfully installed, it will return the Git version.
So that is how you can install Git on your system. In the next part, we will discuss how to configure Git before we can use it.
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