# GitHub Introduction  

```{image} images/Octocat.png
:alt: GitHub Octocat
:width: 100px
:align: center
```  

## What is GitHub?

[GitHub](https://github.com/) is a web-based hosting service that manages Git repositories. GitHub **is not** Git. GitHub allows you to collaborate on the work in Git repositories.

GitHub is one of the most popular hosting platforms for version control systems, but there are others including [GitLab](https://gitlab.com/) and [Bitbucket](https://bitbucket.org/).

```{image} images/GL_and_BB_logos.png
:alt: GitLab logo
:width: 300px
:align: center
```

 

## How to Create a repository  

After you create your account and sign in, you will land on your GitHub Dashboard page or Home. If you follow other developers or specific repositories, their updates will show up here.

To get to your repositories, click on your icon in the upper right corner...

```{image} images/GitHub_personalicon.png
:alt: GitHub personal icon
:align: center
```

 

... and a menu of options will appear. Choose `Your repositories`

```{image} images/GitHub_choose_repos.png
:alt:
:align: center
```

 

If you have not created any repositories yet, you will see a page similar to this:  

```{image} images/GitHub_new_repo1.png
:alt:
:align: center
:scale: 50
```

 

To create a new repository:

- Click the green `New`
- Add a repository name, and short description
- Keep the repository public
- Initialize the repository with a README file. These are initially written in Markdown and are a great way to tell people what your repository (project) is about.
- Add a .gitignore file if there are files in your repository you want Git to ignore (e.g. RStudio project files).
- Click `Create repository`

```{image} images/GitHub_new_repo2.png
:alt: setting up a new repo
:align: center
```

 

Congratulations! You created a project repository on GitHub.