Git is free, and you install it once per machine. It runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux, and the steps differ a little on each. Pick your system below, install Git, then confirm it worked.
Install Git on Windows
The easiest way is the official installer.
- Go to git-scm.com/downloads and download the Windows version.
- Run the installer. The default options are fine for this course - you can click through and accept them.
The installer also gives you a program called Git Bash, a terminal where all the
git commands in this course will work.
Install Git on macOS
The simplest option is Homebrew, a popular package manager for macOS. If you have it, run:
brew install git
If you don't use Homebrew, you can also download the installer from git-scm.com/downloads and run it.
macOS often ships a basic Git through Apple's Xcode command line tools, so the very
first time you type a git command it may pop up a prompt to install those tools.
Accepting it works fine for this course. Installing through Homebrew simply gives you
a newer version that you control.
Install Git on Linux
Use your distribution's package manager.
On Debian or Ubuntu:
sudo apt update
sudo apt install git
On Fedora:
sudo dnf install git
The sudo part runs the command as an administrator, which installing software
requires.
Verify Git installed with git --version
Whatever system you're on, open a terminal (or Git Bash on Windows) and run:
git --version
You should see something like this:
git version 2.45.2
The exact number will differ, and that's fine - any recent version works for this course. If you see a version, Git is installed and ready.
"git: command not found" after installing?
If you run git --version and get an error like command not found or 'git' is not recognized, the most common cause is that you opened the terminal before
installing Git, or the install hasn't updated your current window.
Close the terminal completely and open a new one, then try again. A fresh terminal
picks up the newly installed git command.
FAQ
How do I update Git later?
Re-run the installer with a newer version on Windows, or use your package manager:
brew upgrade git on macOS, or sudo apt install git again on Ubuntu. You don't
need the very latest version for this course.
Which terminal should I use on Windows?
Git Bash, which comes with the Git installer. It behaves like the terminals on macOS and Linux, so the commands in this course will match exactly what you see.
Do I need to install anything else?
No. Git on its own is enough to complete this entire chapter. You'll only need a GitHub account much later, when we cover sharing your work online.