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Lesson 6 · GitHub track 2 min readBeginnerNo command line

Create GitHub Repo (GUI)

In the previous post, we learned about commit, fork and clone. In this post, we are going to take a deep dive into the terminology by creating a GitHub repository from scratch. To create and host a project, the repository is the place where you add all your program code files and other documentation.

New repoEdit READMECommitUpload fileDone ✓
You are here15 lessons in the GitHub track

Prerequisites​

A GitHub account

Set one up in Setup GitHub Account →

Git installed and running

Plus a basic idea of how Git works. See Setup Git →

Your progress

Tick each step as you finish it.
0 of 6 done

How to create a GitHub repository​

Step 1: Open New repository​

Go to the GitHub website. By default, you will be on the Home page as shown below. Click on the + icon in the top-right corner, and from the dropdown, select New repository.

https://github.com

GitHub home page with the plus icon and the New repository option marked

IN THE SCREENSHOT
  • Marker 1: Click on the + icon
  • Marker 2: Click on New repository

Step 2: Name it and choose who can see it​

Specify the name of the project and choose whether to make it public or private. For this tutorial, we’ll make it public.

PUBLIC OR PRIVATE?
Public: we use this for the tutorialAnyone on the internet can see the repository. You still choose who can commit to it.

Next, check the box to include a README file. This will automatically create a README.md file along with the repository. Finally, click on Create repository at the bottom.

https://github.com/new

The Create a new repository form with the owner, name, description, visibility and README options marked

IN THE SCREENSHOT
  • Marker 3: Choose your profile
  • Marker 4: Give a repo name
  • Marker 5: Add a description
  • Marker 6: Make it public
  • Marker 7: Add a README file

Step 3: Tour your new repository​

Once the repository is created, you’ll see a screen like the one below. The explanation of each element is below.

https://github.com/sanjay-kv/Git-Demo

The new Git-Demo repository page with the README file, the edit button and the Add file menu marked

8Your README file

The README is the front page of your repository. GitHub shows it below the file list.

9The edit button

Click the pencil icon on the README to edit it in the browser.

10Add file

Upload any files to the repository from here.

Step 4: Edit the README​

I’m going to add my resume and include my name as a heading in the README.md file. Click the edit icon on the README.

https://github.com/sanjay-kv/Git-Demo

The README of the repository with the edit icon marked

IN THE SCREENSHOT
  • Marker 10: Click on the Edit icon

The Markdown I added​

README files use Markdown, a simple way to format text. Switch to Preview to see how GitHub displays it.

README.md
# Git-Demo
This is a demo installation via GUI

## Developed by Sanjay Viswanathan
This readme contains my resume, please refer to the attached file in the repo.
#A level 1 heading. Here it is the repository name.
##A level 2 heading, smaller than #.
Plain textA line without # is shown as a normal paragraph.
Blank lineStarts a new paragraph or section.

When you are done, click Commit changes to save your edit.

https://github.com/sanjay-kv/Git-Demo/edit/main/README.md

The README editor with the Commit changes button marked

IN THE SCREENSHOT
  • Marker 11: Click on Commit to save the changes

Step 5: Commit the changes​

This is the step where you add your commit message. A short message says what changed; the extended description can explain why.

https://github.com/sanjay-kv/Git-Demo/edit/main/README.md

The Commit changes dialog with the message fields and the Commit button marked

IN THE SCREENSHOT
  • Marker 12: Add a short message
  • Marker 13: Add a detailed message
  • Marker 14: Commit directly to main
  • Marker 15: Click on Commit
  • Marker 16: Go to the main page after the commit

Back on the repository page, you can see the result of your commit.

https://github.com/sanjay-kv/Git-Demo

The repository page after the commit, with the changed README and the commit history marked

IN THE SCREENSHOT
  • Marker 17: README file got changed
  • Marker 18: New commit history
  • Marker 19: Hash key for version control
  • Marker 20: Your latest commit message
DEMO REPOSITORYgithub.com/sanjay-kv/Git-Demo

Step 6: Upload your resume​

Now let’s upload my resume to the repository. Click on Add file, then Upload files.

https://github.com/sanjay-kv/Git-Demo

The Add file menu with the Upload files option marked

IN THE SCREENSHOT
  • Marker 21: Click on Add file
  • Marker 22: Click on Upload

Drag your file in or choose it from your computer, add a commit message and click Commit changes.

https://github.com/sanjay-kv/Git-Demo/upload/main

The upload page with the drop area, the commit message and the Commit button marked

IN THE SCREENSHOT
  • Marker 23: Upload your file from your system
  • Marker 24: Add a commit message
  • Marker 25: Click on Commit

You will now be able to see the uploaded resume in your repository.

Watch the video tutorial​

Conclusion​

In this tutorial, you created a GitHub repository from the web interface, edited its README with Markdown, committed your changes and uploaded a file. In the next post, you will create a repository from the command line.

UP NEXT · LESSON 7Create Repo Via Command line
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MAINTAINED BY

Sanjay Viswanathan

@sanjay-kv

Founder of recodehive and Technical program manager, Prev Google ML Facilitator & Ex- GitHub CE who delivered 100+ talks on ML and open source and developer advocacy.

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