Introduction

Git is a tool that helps you save and track changes in your files. Installing Git lets you start using it on your computer to manage your projects easily.

When you want to save versions of your work to avoid losing changes.

When you need to share your code with friends or teammates.

When you want to keep a history of your project to see what changed and when.

When you want to work on your project from different computers without losing progress.

When you want to fix mistakes by going back to earlier versions of your files.

Commands

This command updates the list of available software so you can install the latest Git version.

Terminal

sudo apt update

Expected OutputExpected

Hit:1 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal InRelease Get:2 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-updates InRelease [114 kB] Get:3 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-backports InRelease [101 kB] Fetched 215 kB in 1s (234 kB/s) Reading package lists... Done

This command installs Git on your system and the -y flag automatically confirms the installation.

Terminal

sudo apt install git -y

Expected OutputExpected

Reading package lists... Done Building dependency tree Reading state information... Done The following NEW packages will be installed: git 0 upgraded, 1 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded. Need to get 21.3 MB of archives. After this operation, 83.2 MB of additional disk space will be used. Get:1 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal/main amd64 git amd64 1:2.25.1-1ubuntu3.10 [21.3 MB] Fetched 21.3 MB in 3s (7,123 kB/s) Selecting previously unselected package git. (Reading database ... 123456 files and directories currently installed.) Preparing to unpack .../git_1%3a2.25.1-1ubuntu3.10_amd64.deb ... Unpacking git (1:2.25.1-1ubuntu3.10) ... Setting up git (1:2.25.1-1ubuntu3.10) ... Processing triggers for man-db (2.9.1-1) ...

→

-y - Automatically confirms yes to prompts during installation

This command checks that Git was installed correctly by showing its version.

Terminal

git --version

Expected OutputExpected

git version 2.25.1

Key Concept

If you remember nothing else, remember: installing Git lets you track and save your work safely on your computer.

Common Mistakes

Not updating the package list before installing Git

The system might try to install an old or missing version of Git.

Always run 'sudo apt update' before installing new software to get the latest versions.

Skipping the version check after installation

You won't know if Git installed correctly or which version you have.

Run 'git --version' to confirm Git is installed and working.

Summary

Update your system's software list with 'sudo apt update' to get the latest packages.

Install Git using 'sudo apt install git -y' to add it to your computer.

Verify the installation by running 'git --version' to see the installed Git version.