Git Installation

Last Updated on September 18, 2023 by Mayank Dham

Git is a version control system that tracks changes to software code and other files. Git allows developers to collaborate on projects by keeping track of different versions of files, making it easy to revert to a previous version or merge changes made by different people. So in this article, we are going to see how to install git on our computer.

Installing git on MacOS

You can use any of the following ways to install git on your Mac

Using Xcode
These are the following steps you should follow to install git with the help of Xcode

• Open the Terminal application on your Mac. You can find it by searching for "Terminal" in Spotlight or by going to Applications > Utilities > Terminal.

• Install Xcode Command Line Tools by typing the following command into the Terminal and pressing enter:

  xcode-select --install

  This will rise a pop-up window asking if you want to install the tools. Click "Install" and wait for the installation to complete.

• Download the Git installer for macOS from the Git website. You can find the latest version at https://git-scm.com/download/mac.

• Once the download is complete, open the installer package by double-clicking on it.

• Follow the prompts in the installer to complete the installation. You can leave most of the settings at their default values, but you may want to customize the install location or select specific components to install.

• After the installation is complete, verify that Git was installed correctly by typing the following command into the Terminal and pressing enter:

  git --version

  This should display the version number of Git that was installed.

Woohoo!! You have now git installed on your computer, and you are ready to use it.

Using Homebrew
Homebrew is a package manager for macOS, we will use it to install git on our computer. Here are the steps to install git:

• Open the Terminal application on your Mac. You can find it by searching for "Terminal" in Spotlight or find it by going to Applications > Utilities > Terminal.

• Install Homebrew, a popular package manager for macOS, by typing the following command into the Terminal and pressing enter:

  /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsFL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

• Once Homebrew is installed, use it to install Git by typing the following command into the Terminal and pressing enter:

  brew install git

• Wait for the installation to complete. Homebrew will automatically download and install any dependencies required by Git.

• After the installation is complete, check the git version number by typing the following command on the terminal:

  git --version

  This will display the version of Git that was installed.

Hence these are the steps using which you can install git on your computer having macOS.

Installing git on Windows

Installing git on Windows is very simple, here are the steps to install git on Windows:

• Go to the Git website at https://git-scm.com/downloads and click on the "Download for Windows" button.
• This will download the Git for Windows installer. Once the download is complete, double-click on the installer file to start the installation process.
• Follow the prompts in the installer and complete the installation, also do the necessary thing like customizing the location if you want to.
• During the installation process, you will be asked to choose a default text editor for Git. You can choose to use the default editor (which is Vim), or you can choose another editor that you have installed on your system.
• After the installation is complete, open the Git Bash application. This is a command-line interface for Git that you can use to interact with Git repositories.

• To verify that Git was installed correctly, type the following command into the Git Bash terminal and press enter:

  git --version

  This should display the version number of Git that was installed.

This is how you can install git on Windows.

Conclusion
In this article, we have learned how to install git on our computer having macOS or Windows Operating System. It is a very simple process and once the git is installed you can check it on your command line or terminal by checking the version that will confirm whether your git is installed or not with its version number.

FAQs related to Git Installation

Here are some frequently asked questions (FAQs) related to Git installation:

1. What is Git, and why should I install it?
Git is a distributed version control system used to track changes in files and collaborate on software development projects.
You should install Git to efficiently manage and track changes in your projects, collaborate with others, and maintain a history of your code.

2. Which operating systems are supported for Git installation?
Git is supported on Windows, macOS, Linux, and other Unix-like systems. There are installation packages available for each of these platforms.

3. Is it necessary to install Git on my computer to use it?
No, you can use Git without installing it on your computer by utilizing online Git platforms like GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket. However, installing Git locally provides greater flexibility and control over your projects.

4. How often should I update Git to the latest version?
It’s a good practice to keep Git updated to the latest version to access new features and bug fixes. You can check for updates and install them periodically using your system’s package manager or the Git installer.

5. Can I have multiple versions of Git installed on my computer?
Yes, you can have multiple versions of Git installed, but it’s generally recommended to use the latest stable version. You can manage different Git versions by specifying the executable’s path.