Create Github Account

Version Control with GitHub

Calvin and Hobbes Time Machine

Don't you sometimes wish you had a time machine? Well, now you can! At least for your documents, scripts, etc. using Github. Since we will be coding and writing to perform analyses, it is useful to be able to keep histories of our files so we can recover material we may have changed or discarded in the past. With Github, you can also copy (fork) other people's projects and give them feedback, suggest improvements, or correct their errors. It is a powerful tool for collaboration.

Sign-up for GitHub Account

In a web browser open GitHub's webpage and select the Signup for GitHub option and follow the steps to create your account. You can use your personal or institutional edu email (or both). I suggest using your  XXX@YYY.edu email to ensure you get all the educational benefits. Note: You can create the account with your personal email and request educational benefits afterwards also (a bit more involved, but you will not have to change email accounts if you change/leave institutions).

sign-up-github

Download GitHub Utilities

Head over to GitHub Desktop and download their utilities for your operating system (OS). The GitHub Desktop App makes interacting with git and GitHub a breeze.

Github-Desktop

Create your first repository and learn Github Basics

Follow the steps in this guide to create your first repository. You will also learn the basics of working with Github by creating branches, commits, and pull requests. Hopefully, you will see why it is so useful.

Github Guides

In case you want to find out more about GitHub or need some help, here are some useful guides.