Step-by-step guide: How to install Git on Windows desktop computers

How to install Git on Windows in 10 easy steps:

Here are the steps to follow to install Git on Windows:

1. Download the executable Git file from git-scm.com/downloads
2. Run the installation file with Administrator rights
3. Choose an appropriate installation location such as C:\_tools\git
4. Install the default components, including Git GUI Here and Git Bash Here
5. Choose your preferred Git default editor. We recommend Notepad++.
6. Allow Git to be added to the Windows PATH
7. Accept the default line ending conversion for Unix and Windows compatibility
8. Chose the extra option to enable system caching
9. Click Finish to complete the install.
10. Choose to open a Git Bash shell and start using Git!

Test the Windows Git install

You can test the veracity of your Windows Git install by issuing the five basic Git commands every developer should know. Those basic Git commands are:

1. init
2. add
3. config
4. status
5. commit

Before you run Git init, first create a new folder named repos off the C:\ drive:

windows@install-git MINGW64 /c/repos
$ git init
Initialized empty Git repository in C:/repos/.git/

In the newly created folder, add a file named windows-git-install.txt:

windows@install-git MINGW64 /c/repos
$ touch windows-git-install.txt

Then add the file to the Git index:

windows@install-git MINGW64 /c/repos
$ git add .

Configure the Git user’s email address and username:

windows@install-git MINGW64 /c/repos
$ git config --global user.name "Cameron McKenzie"

windows@install-git MINGW64 /c/repos
$ git config --global user.email "mail@example.com"

Commit the new file to the new Git repository:

windows@install-git MINGW64 /c/repos
$ git commit -m "New Windows git install commit"
[master (root-commit) 5b8f1f4] New Windows git install commit
1 file changed, 0 insertions(+), 0 deletions(-)
create mode 100644 windows-git-install.txt

And finally, check the status of the newly installed Git repo:

windows@install-git MINGW64 /c/repos
$ git status
On branch master
nothing to commit, working tree clean

Thus concludes the task to install Git on Windows, and ensure that the DVCS tool is properly configured to manage source code and interact with SaaS-based tools such as GitHub, GitLab and BitBucket.

How to run five basic Git commands