About Git and Sourcetree

Git is a popular distributed version control software (VCS). It is used to track changes in computer files and coordinating work on those files among multiple people. It is primarily used for source code management in software development,but it can be used to keep track of changes in any set of files.

Sourcetree on the other hand is a free Git client for Windows and Mac. The key benefit to Sourcetree is the visualization of the Git process. It can feel daunting when you’re using the terminal, as you have a limited view of what’s happening behind the scenes. Managing large projects with multiple branches, commits and developers can get messy. SourceTree can make the whole process more manageable.

Setting up

Follow this setup guide to get Git with Sourcetree up and running on your computer.

  1. Download Git here.

  2. Download Sourcetree here and login using your Atlassian or Bitbucket server account.

  3. Fork the repository you wish to contribute to on GitHub.

  4. Go to the forked repository and click on Clone or download and copy the link.

  5. Open Sourcetree and click Clone and paste the link into Source Path / URL and click Clone.

  6. You are now ready for some development work!

It is always a good idea to ensure that your forked repository is ahead or even with the upstream repository