Git mental model (snapshots not diffs) - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Git Mental Model: Snapshots Not Diffs

📖 Scenario: You are working on a simple project with a few text files. You want to understand how Git saves your work as snapshots instead of just differences.This helps you see the whole state of your project at each save point.

🎯 Goal: Learn how to create a Git repository, add files, commit snapshots, and view the saved snapshots to understand Git's snapshot model.

📋 What You'll Learn

Initialize a Git repository

Create a file with exact content

Add the file to Git staging area

Commit the snapshot with a message

View the commit log to see snapshots

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Developers use Git snapshots to save and track their project states safely and clearly.

💼 Career

Understanding Git snapshots is essential for collaborating on code and managing changes in software projects.

1

Initialize Git repository and create a file

Run git init to create a new Git repository. Then create a file named notes.txt with the exact content Hello Git.

Git

# Run git init to start a repository
# Create notes.txt with content 'Hello Git'
# Your code here

Need a hint?

Use git init to start. Use echo "Hello Git" > notes.txt to create the file with exact content.

2

Add the file to Git staging area

Use git add notes.txt to add the file notes.txt to the Git staging area.

Git

git init

echo "Hello Git" > notes.txt
# Add notes.txt to staging area
# Your code here

Need a hint?

Use git add notes.txt to prepare the file for commit.

3

Commit the snapshot with a message

Use git commit -m "First snapshot" to save a snapshot of the current project state with the message First snapshot.

Git

git init

echo "Hello Git" > notes.txt

git add notes.txt
# Commit the snapshot with message 'First snapshot'
# Your code here

Need a hint?

Use git commit -m "First snapshot" to save your changes.

4

View the commit log to see snapshots

Run git log --oneline to display the list of commits (snapshots) with their messages.

Git

git init

echo "Hello Git" > notes.txt

git add notes.txt

git commit -m "First snapshot"
# Show the commit log in one line format
# Your code here

Need a hint?

Use git log --oneline to see your commit messages and IDs.