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Getting Started with Git & GitHub

Austen Sorochak

Impact Analyst

Ocean Hack Week 2026

A UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA INITIATIVE

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Today’s Goal: get you collaborating on GitHub

What you'll walk out able to do

Clone a Repo
Create a branch
Commit and push your work
Open a pull request
Review a teammate's PR
Resolve a merge conflict

Concepts We’ll Explore

Advantages of using Git & GitHub
Tracking changes in code
The phases of committing code
Collaboration Best Practices

OCEAN NETWORKS CANADA World Leading Discoveries at a Critical Time

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What is your experience with git:

I have not used git/Github before
I have used only git/Github on my own projects
I have collaborated with others using Git & Github

OCEAN NETWORKS CANADA World Leading Discoveries at a Critical Time

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Git vs GitHub — not the same thing

Git

A version control system on your computer.

Tracks every change over time
Lets you go back to any version
Works offline, local

GitHub

A platform in the cloud, built on top of Git.

Backs up and shares your repos
Collaboration: PRs, issues, reviews
Your portfolio + a bit social (follow, star, share)

Think of it like Google Docs for code: Git is the version history, GitHub is the shared drive everyone works from.

On CryoCloud, Git is already installed. (Only need to install it if you later work locally on your own machine.)

OCEAN NETWORKS CANADA World Leading Discoveries at a Critical Time

07 min

Slide 4 — Git vs GitHub

A lot of people use these two names interchangeably, but Git and GitHub are actually different things.

Git is the tool that runs on your computer. It's what tracks your changes, saves versions, and lets you go back in time. It works entirely on its own, offline, on your machine.

GitHub is the website. It's where your work goes to be backed up, shared, and worked on with other people — pull requests, reviews, all of that. It's also becoming your portfolio, and honestly a bit of a social network for code.

The way I like to think about it: it's Google Docs for code. Git is the version history — every change, who made it, when. GitHub is the shared drive everyone works from.

And the good news for today: CryoCloud already has Git installed, so nobody needs to install anything. You'd only deal with installing it later if you start working on your own laptop.

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Why we start here

Code safety

Every change is tracked, attributed, and reversible. Nobody overwrites anybody's work.

Real collaboration

Discuss, propose, review. It's how your project team will divide and merge work this week.

If you mess up, you can always go back. That safety net is the whole reason version control exists.

OCEAN NETWORKS CANADA World Leading Discoveries at a Critical Time

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The four places your code lives

Every command today just moves your work between these four boxes.

Working dir

files you edit

Staging

marked to save

Local repo

saved on the hub

GitHub

shared with everyone

add

commit

push

pull - bring GitHub's changes back down to you

status - tells you which box your stuff is in. When lost, run it.

OCEAN NETWORKS CANADA World Leading Discoveries at a Critical Time

20 min - DO A LIVE EXAMPLE! Pause for Questions - Ask for Questions!

The mental model for everything today: your code moves between four places. Walk left to right.
Working directory — the files you're editing. Staging — you mark which changes to include (git add). Local repo — you save that snapshot with a message (git commit); it's saved but only on your machine. GitHub — you push it up so it's backed up and shared.
The one that confuses everyone: why add AND commit? Explain them as two separate boxes — add is "pick what goes in this snapshot," commit is "take the snapshot." Two steps, two boxes.
Then pull (bottom arrow): bring other people's changes from GitHub back down to you.
Repeat the anchor: git status tells you which box your stuff is in. When you're lost, run git status. You'll say this a hundred times today.
~3 min. This is the last concept slide — after this we set up and start typing.

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Branches & Pull Requests

A branch is your own safe lane. A pull request proposes merging it back.

your branch (feature branch or bug fix branch)

Pull Request + merge

review, then combine

When two commits change the same lines of code on the same branch, the merge needs you to choose which to keep.

That's a merge conflict — normal, expected, and fixable. Not an error, not a bug. We'll trigger a bunch on purpose in Round 2.

main branch

switch -c newBugFix

OCEAN NETWORKS CANADA World Leading Discoveries at a Critical Time

23 minutes

This is the picture of how you'll actually work together.

The lower line is the main branch, the official shared version of the project. The rule is: you don't work directly on main. Instead, you branch off, that's the line going up. Think of it as your own safe lane, a copy where you can work without touching main or anyone else's work. This is the 'spin off a copy to experiment' idea I mentioned earlier.

You make your commits up there on your branch, safe, isolated. When you're happy with it, you open a pull request: that's you proposing 'here's my work, I'd like to merge it into main.' Your teammates can look it over, comment, and approve — then it merges back down into main, and now everyone has it.

So the loop is: branch off, do your work, open a pull request, get it reviewed, merge back. That's collaboration on GitHub in one picture.

And here's the one to remember —" [point at the bottom box] "— when two people change the same lines of code, Git can't decide whose version wins, so it asks you to choose. That's a merge conflict. It is not an error, not a bug — it's normal and expected, and we're going to trigger a bunch of them on purpose in Round 2 so they stop being scary.

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What this looks like in the wild

A quick look at GitHub before we build our own.

1

SoundBird — a personal project

github.com/sorochak/SoundBird

A good README tells you what a project is in 10 seconds. That's the standard you're aiming for.

Commits, PRs, and Issues

2

metadata-entry-form — a real team tool

github.com/cioos-siooc/metadata-entry-form

Documentation done on software a team actually depends on.

3

GitHub is also social

Stars ★ · Following · Profiles

Star repos you find useful, follow people doing interesting work. Your profile becomes your portfolio.

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Git Tips & Best Practices

Commit Often: Make small, frequent commits with clear, concise messages.
Don’t Commit Secrets: Never push passwords, API keys, or sensitive data to your public repository.
Use Branches: Always create a new branch for new features or bug fixes.
Pull First: Always run ‘git pull’ before starting your work each day to get the latest changes from your teammates.

OCEAN NETWORKS CANADA World Leading Discoveries at a Critical Time

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We're all jumping into one repo

20+ people, the same repository, at the same time.

Round 1 - your own file

The clean happy path.

Branch, commit, push, open a PR, review a neighbour, merge.
Everyone edits a different file, nothing collides.

Goal: build confidence in the full loop.

Round 2 - one shared file

Conflicts on purpose.

Everyone edits the same line of roll_call.md.
Merges collide, we fix them together.

Goal: make conflicts boring here, not scary on your project.

The whole point: we WANT the conflicts. Better to hit them here first, together.

Repo: github.com/oceanhackweek/ohw26-intro-activity

Open in Separate Tabs: README.md; SETUP.md; Cryocloud JupyterHub

OCEAN NETWORKS CANADA World Leading Discoveries at a Critical Time

25 min

Here's the plan for the rest of the session — one repo, two rounds. The link's on screen: github.com/oceanhackweek/ohw26-intro-activity. We'll clone it together in a minute.
Round 1 is the clean run. Everyone works on their own file, so nothing collides. You'll do the whole loop — branch, commit, push, open a pull request, review a neighbour's, and merge. This is just about getting comfortable with the cycle.
Round 2 is where we cause trouble on purpose. Everyone edits the same line of the same file, so the merges collide — that's a merge conflict, and we'll work through them together.
Why? Because tomorrow you're on a real project repo where this happens for real. Far better to meet your first conflict here, together, where it's safe — than alone on Tuesday. So when Round 2 collides: that's not a problem, that's the whole point.
~2 min, then into setup.

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Setup - Instructions in SETUP.md

1

Log in to CryoCloud

hub.cryointhecloud.com — sign in with GitHub, open a Terminal (Launcher → Other).

2

Org membership = Public

In the OceanHackWeek org People tab, switch yourself Private → Public. Login fails otherwise.

3

Authenticate git

Run gh auth login and follow the steps in SETUP.md. Stuck? Let us know and someone will help you.

4

Confirm it worked

Run gh auth status. See 'Logged in as [you]'? You're ready.

OCEAN NETWORKS CANADA World Leading Discoveries at a Critical Time

Okay — this is the one part where we all stop and get in sync, because it's the thing most likely to trip us up.

should be 20 mins into the presentation max by now.

Some of you may have already logged into CryoCloud and authenticated with GitHub earlier — if that's you, great, you can just sit tight or help a neighbour. If you haven't, no problem, we're going to do it together right now, step by step.

Everything here is in the SETUP.md file in the repo, so you're not scrambling to copy anything down.

Four things. One: log in to CryoCloud at hub.cryointhecloud.com, sign in with GitHub, and open a terminal — Launcher, then Other, then Terminal. Two: make sure your OceanHackWeek org membership is set to Public — if it's Private, login to the hub fails, so this one matters. Three: authenticate git — run gh auth login and follow the steps in SETUP.md.Four: confirm it worked — run gh auth status. If it says 'Logged in as [you]', you're set. We'll clone the repo together as the first step of Round 1.

The single most important thing: if you get stuck, put your hand up right away. Don't sit and struggle quietly — a facilitator will come straight to you. We don't move on until most hands are down.

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Round 1 — your own file

Different files, no collisions. This should go smoothly.

git clone https://github.com/oceanhackweek/ohw26-intro-activity.git

cd ohw26-intro-activity

git switch -c intro-YOURHANDLE

# make introductions/YOURHANDLE.md

git status

git add introductions/YOURHANDLE.md

git commit -m "Add intro (closes #12)"

git push -u origin intro-YOURHANDLE

# then on GitHub: open a PR, review a

# neighbour's, approve, and merge

The loop

1

branch

2

edit

3

add

4

commit

5

push

6

PR

7

review

8

merge

OCEAN NETWORKS CANADA World Leading Discoveries at a Critical Time

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Round 2 — the shared file

This WILL conflict. That is the plan, not a problem.

Update main git switch main → git pull origin main (Round 1's merges land locally)

New branch git switch -c rollcall-YOURHANDLE

Edit the same spot Add your row at the top of roll_call.md — everyone in the same place

Push & PR git add · commit · push, then open a PR

Hit a conflict? Great. Next slide is the fix. Nothing is broken.

OCEAN NETWORKS CANADA World Leading Discoveries at a Critical Time

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Resolving a merge conflict

Two people changed the same lines. Git needs you to pick. Calm, three steps.

git switch main

git pull origin main

git switch rollcall-YOURHANDLE

git merge main

# git flags the conflict:

<<<<<<< HEAD

your line

=======

their line

>>>>>>> main

# keep both, delete the markers

Then finish the merge

git add roll_call.md
git commit
git push

Refresh the PR — the conflict is gone.

Nothing was broken. Nothing was lost. You just did the scary thing.

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You can now collaborate on a repo

Daily loop

branch → commit → push → PR → merge

The whole cycle you just practised.

When lost

git status

It tells you which box your work is in.

Conflicts

not errors

Git asking a human to choose. You've done it now.

Tomorrow

your project repo

Same moves, also, .gitignore keeps junk out.

Cheat sheet + full walkthrough live in the repo README. See you in the projects.

OCEAN NETWORKS CANADA World Leading Discoveries at a Critical Time