This article assumes you're setting up your Git repository on your DreamHost server. View the SSH overview article for instructions on how to log into your server.
Pre-installed Git
Git is installed on all DreamHost servers. Run the following commands to view the location and version.
[server]$ which git /usr/bin/git [server]$ git --version
How to set up Git for the first time
When you first set up your Git environment, you'll want to configure a few variables. View the following article for details:
You can also just proceed with the following steps for a basic setup.
Creating your identity
The following commands create your identity to be used with Git. View the SSH article for details on how to log into your server:
[server]$ git config --global user.name "John Doe" [server]$ git config --global user.email johndoe@example.com [server]$ git config --global init.defaultBranch main
The last line ensures newly created repositories use the name main as the primary branch. View the following article for further details:
This creates a file named .gitconfig in your user's directory with the following content:
[user] name = John Doe email = johndoe@example.com
Check to confirm Git can find those settings by running the following:
[server]$ git config --list user.name=John Doe user.email=johndoe@example.com
Setting up the repository and commit
- Navigate to the directory of your application (or website). This example sets up Git in your website's directory. Change username to your Shell user and example.com to your website.
[server]$ cd /home/username/example.com
- Run the following to initialize the new repository:
[server]$ git init Initialized empty Git repository in /home/username/example.com/.git/
- This command creates the /.git directory and your git repository.
- Add all files in your app to the Git repository. The following command shows how to add all files:
[server]$ git add .
- You can also choose specific files if you wish.
- Run the status command to confirm which files are in the staging area:
[server]$ git status
Initial commit Changes to be committed: (use "git rm --cached ..." to unstage) new file: favicon.ico new file: images/image1.jpg new file: images/image2.jpg new file: images/image3.jpg new file: index.html new file: mystyles.cssIn this example, you can see the following files and folders are being tracked and ready to be committed:
- favicon.ico
- images/image1.jpg
- images/image2.jpg
- images/image3.jpg
- index.html
- mystyles.css
- If you're sure you're ready to commit (save) these versions of the files to your Git repository, run the following command:
Make sure to add a short and clear message that explains what this commit was for. View the following article for details on how to create a good commit message.
[server]$ git commit -m "Committing website files for the first time" [main (root-commit) e11cdb7] Committing website files for the first time 6 files changed, 34 insertions(+) create mode 100644 favicon.ico create mode 100644 images/image1.jpg create mode 100644 images/image2.jpg create mode 100644 images/image3.jpg create mode 100644 index.html
create mode 100644 mystyles.css- The -m flag allows you to add a message to this commit.
This creates your first commit. You can see your commit history by running the following:
[server]$ git log --oneline e11cdb7 (HEAD -> main) Committing website files for the first time
You don't need the --oneline flag, this just shortens the response so it's easier to read. View the following link for further examples and explanations:
