To be ready for this tutorial you will need:
- Visual Studio Code installed
- Registered for a GitHub account
- Have Git installed.
If you are missing any of the above then check out or earlier post with a guide on getting setup for the tutorial.
So you’re still here and ready to continue your journey?
Creating a Repo
If you already have a repo which has caught your eye on GitHub then you can go ahead and skip this step. If not, in this steps we will run through creating your own private repo.

Once you are signed in to GitHub you will land on the GitHub home which has lots of useful information but it can feel a little overwhelming at first. Hopefully towards the top left you can see a New button, click on it and you will be taken to a screen to add your repo details.

On the Create a new repository screen you will need to enter a name for your repository (anything you like), you can also enter a description if you like. Next make sure you click on Private this will mean your repo is only visible to yourself (and who you invite in the future).
Check the box to Add a README file, doing this will also initialize your repository for you and is the easiest way to get setup.
Your .gitignore and license you can just leave as the defaults as this is only a tutorial. When you are using GitHub for real then you will want to select (or create your own) .gitignore. Essentially it is an easy way to prevent files which match a certain criteria from being added to the repo. For example you won’t want your local config files ending up in the repo. The license only really matters if you are opening up your repo to the public.
So your screen by now should be looking similar to this:

After a quick check for yourself then hit the Create repository button. Your repo will now be created and you will be taken to it on the main branch (branching, a topic for another blog post).
You are now ready to move onto step 2 where you will start using your new repo.
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