# Understanding The Basics Of GitHub

This post is the **Part Of Fundamentals of Git and Github** and In this whole series we will learn `basic` to `advanced` concepts related to Git and Github

## Let's Begin

​If you are a `beginner` and don't know how to use `Github` then this post is for you. In this post, I will guide you on how to use the `Github account` in an easy way.

`GitHub` is a website and service that we hear geeks rave about all the time, yet a lot of people don't really understand what it does. Want to know what all GitHub is about? Read on to find out.

First, we will need a `Github account`. If you don't have a Github account then [**click here**](https://github.com/) to `create` a Github account else you can continue reading the post, if you already had one.

After having the `Github` account login into your account and now we are ready to use Github and understand the Github environment.

Let's first understand few terminologies mentioned below:

### What is Github?

GitHub is a code hosting platform for collaboration and version control and lets you (and others) work together on projects.

### What is Github Profile?

A `GitHub Profile` is just like any other social media profile, like a `Facebook` or `Twitter` profile, except for the fact that it's for GitHub. It's also very `programming-centric` and helps promote the visibility of your `GitHub-hosted projects` and a Github profile link looks like this `https://github.com/username/`
 
For **example**, my Github username is `altafshaikh` so my Github profile link will be <https://github.com/altafshaikh/>.

> *Let's see how a Github profile looks like...*

![altaf shaikh Github profile picture](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1617249322722/VW_-WTsR1.png)

### What is meant by contribution and contribution graph?
Your profile contributions graph is a `record of contributions` you've made to GitHub repositories. Contributions are `timestamped` according to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) rather than your local time zone.

> Let's see how a Github Contribution Graph looks like...

![altaf shaikh Github Contribution Graph](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1617249535352/p7EFU1hsd.png)

### What is a Repository or Repo?

A `repository` (usually abbreviated to "repo") is a location where all the files for a particular project are `stored`. Each project has its own `repo`, and you can access it with a unique URL.

> Let's see how a Github Repository looks like...

![repo pic.png](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1617250136525/XELMS-5xm.png)

### Repository Overview

How to **download** a project or repository from Github?

There are mainly `two` ways in which you can `download` a repository from **Github**. 

1.  `Direct download` zip from the repository and extract it.

![repo download.gif](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1617250157774/4IXS1Gn4L.gif)

2. Using `git clone` command to **clone** or **download** the repository directly into your local machine via terminal. (*we will learn more about git and git commands in further posts*)

```
git clone https://github.com/altafshaikh/Friends-The-Social-Network.git

```

> PS: Some Screenshots used in this article are old when my username was different, so don't get confused just stick to the concept : )

## How to create a Github repository?

-   Click on `+` 
-   Click on `New Repository`

![create new repo.gif](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1617250318209/xMdve50Aq.gif)

-   Fill in the details of the repository.

![save repo.gif](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1617250284022/uzEwiWAFy.gif)

-   And Hit on the `Create Repository` button to create the repository.

> `Congratulations`, you have learned the basics of Github and how to use it. In further posts, we will learn more `advanced concepts`. I hope you enjoyed the post.

`Thank you for reading my post and I will bring more such posts so stay tuned with me.