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Installing Git on Windows: a Step-by-Step Guide

Installing Git on Windows: a Step-by-Step Guide
Hostman Team
Technical writer
Git
15.02.2024
Reading time: 7 min

Git is a version control system that allows you to monitor file changes and manage the history of those changes. This software tool is used for software quality control and code security. Git also allows multiple people to work together on the same project simultaneously, keeping each participant's change history. 

Installing Git in Windows takes place in a standalone installer rather than in the console, which is convenient and easy for the user. It will cover basic configuration, component selection, and all other installation steps.

On Windows, Git provides the user with a set of tools and applications to manage file versions. Below are some of the tools and features that you will be able to use once the software installation is complete:

  • Git Bash is a Windows command line that allows you to execute Git commands. In addition to these, it contains all the standard Bash commands.

  • Git GUI allows you to perform all basic Git operations without using the command line. It will be handy for novice users.

  • Shell Integration is a feature that allows you to integrate Git with the Windows shell. This means that you can execute Git commands directly from the shell without having to open a separate program. To do this, you will need to right-click on a folder on your system and then select Git Bash or Git GUI to proceed.

In this guide, we will describe how to install Git on Windows, explain each step in detail in the standalone installer, and perform the initial configuration of the version control system, after which you can get straight to work.

Prerequisites

  • Windows operating system (Windows 7 or higher). We will be installing Git on Windows 11.

  • Administrator rights on your operating system.

  • Internet access to download the installer.

Installing Git on Windows

Step 1: First of all, go to the official website and click on the "Downloads for Windows" section. You will see several installation methods:

  • Installing the latest supported build;

  • Standalone installer for different system bit sizes;

  • Portable version for a flash drive;

  • Installing from source.

In this guide, we will use the first option.

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Once you have downloaded the file, run it and proceed to the next step.

Step 2: The installer will show the general public license for the software. You don't need to do anything here; just click the "Next" button.

Step 3. Select the directory you want to install Git to. To do this, click on the "Browse..." button and specify the path.

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At the time of writing, the current Git version requires 320.9 Mb of disk space.

Step 4: In the next window, select the components to install on your device. For example, you can select Git Bash to install on Windows. 

If you need additional components beyond the default ones (such as automatic update checking), check the box next to them. We will leave only the ones that the installer suggests, except for the last one, Scalar.

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Step 5. After selecting the components, the installer prompts you to create shortcuts for the software in the Start MenuTo skip this optional step, check the box next to "Don't create a Start Menu folder".

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Otherwise, the installer will create a shortcut directory.

Step 6: In the next window, select your preferred text editor to use by default. There are several options:

  • Vim (recommended by the installer);

  • Notepad / Notepad ++;

  • Nano;

  • VSC / VSC Insiders;

  • Sublime Text;

  • Atom;

  • VSCodium;

  • Wordpad.

The Vim editor, which the system recommends, can be difficult for novice users due to its user interface and operation peculiarities. We suggest a simpler alternative, which is the Nano console editor.

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Once you select the editor, click the "Next" button and proceed to the next step.

Step 7: Next, you need to specify the name of the initial branch in the new repositories. At the time of writing, the system offers the name "master". You can select the option offered by the system or specify your own. We will choose the former.

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Step 8: The next step is to configure how to use Git. 

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There are three options to choose from:

  • Interact with Git exclusively in the Git Bash terminal. We recommend this option for those who want to use only the standard features of the system and do not need third-party tools;

  • Interacting with Git from the command line, as well as from third-party software. Third-party tools can include GUIs such as TortoiseGit or SourceTree, as well as other tools that can make working with Git easier;

  • Interacting with Git in the terminal, but using Unix commands. Choose this option only if you understand exactly what it means.

The first option does not change the PATH variable, the second makes minor modifications, and the third completely overwrites it.

We choose the default option offered by the system and click the "Next" button.

Step 9: Next, we need to choose an SSH client from the two options offered. This will either be the built-in OpenSSH or an external one. By default, Git uses the built-in SSH client called ssh.exe. If you want to use the external one, you will have to install it separately.

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 We will choose the first option.

Step 10. The next step is to select the SSL/TLS library that Git will use for HTTPS connections. By default, the installer prompts us to select the OpenSSL library. This option is fine for regular users. But if you work in a company that uses its own certificates, choose the second one.

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We select the first option and click the "Next" button.

Step 11. The installer prompts you to configure the conversion of line endings in text files. It can be of two types: LF for UNIX systems, and CRLF for Windows. In the suggested conversion options, checkout is an operation in Git that allows you to select a particular branch or a commit to work on, and commit is an operation to save changes to the repository.

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We choose the first option where checkout is done in Windows style and commit is done in UNIX style.

Step 12. Next, select the terminal emulator for Git Bash. The best option is MinTTY, which is offered by default. Select it and proceed to the next step.

Git 2.43.0 64 Bit.tmp 6m Mi Nl Z Wv6

Step 13. Now, choose the behavior for the git pull command. We recommend using the "Only ever fast-forward" option as it is the standard command behavior and helps to avoid any unexpected merges.

Git 2.43.0 64 Bit.tmp M Iqy Yiqqtf

Step 14. One of the final steps is to select a credentials assistant. Git Credential Manager stores passwords and other personal information for connecting to remote repositories. To avoid entering them all the time, select it and click the "Next" button.

Step 15: During the penultimate step, configure additional settings. Here, you can enable file system caching and symbolic links. We recommend leaving these settings as is, so that only the first parameter is checked.

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Step 16. Finally, before starting the Git installation on Windows, you can enable the experimental options. We do not recommend doing this as they are not stable yet. 

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Leave everything unchanged and click the "Install" button.

After the above steps are complete, Git will be installed on your system. Before you start using it, you need to perform the initial Git setup. 

Initial Git setup

In order to get started with Git, you will need to do some initial configuration. It consists of running two commands that set the user's name and email.

Open the installed Git Bash application and type the following into the console, specifying your name:

git config --global user.name "Mary Duncan"

Then link the email address to the user, entering your own email: 

git config --global user.email "maryduncan@hostman.com"

With these settings done, Git is ready to go. Now you can create your repository and make your first commit.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we have gone over installing Git on Windows 11. We have covered each step of the installer in detail, including selecting additional components, SSH client, SSL/TLS library, and other options. 

By following these instructions, you can easily install and configure Git on your computer.

Git
15.02.2024
Reading time: 7 min

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If you want to specify a comment, you can use the following commands: git stash push or git stash save: git stash push -m "<your comment>" The result will be: Saved working directory and index state On master: <your comment> The same result will occur with this command: git stash save "<your comment>" However, this command is considered deprecated — you can check the documentation for more details. Retrieving Changes Now, let’s return to the original task. We need to bring back the hidden changes. Use the command: git stash pop The output will tell you that the changes have been applied to the current working area and can now be used. It will also indicate that all data has been removed from the special temporary storage. If you need to apply the changes without removing them from the stash, use the command: git stash apply Additional Commands and Parameters List All Stashes To view the list of changes that have been stashed in the repository, you can use the command: git stash list Example output: stash@{0}: On master: User Story #2010stash@{1}: WIP on master: 099797d start Applying Specific Changes by Index To apply a specific change, you can use the pop command with the stash index: git stash pop 'stash@{1}' Example output: no changes added to commit (use "git add" and/or "git commit -a")Dropped stash@{1} (563f9c20ab12525795911fbed0c4ebf4a1298b4e) Additional Parameters for the git stash Command If you need to stash changes while keeping them in the working directory, use the --keep-index flag. In this case, files added to the tracked list using the git add command will remain: git stash --keep-index Output: Saved working directory and index state WIP on master: 099797d start If you call git status after this, the modified files will still be there: On branch main Changes to be committed: (use "git restore --staged <file>..." to unstage) modified: GitStash/Program.cs modified: GitStash/SomeModule.cs If you need to add files that git does not track yet, use the --include-untracked flag: git stash --include-untracked When you retrieve changes using pop, you will see a message about the presence of untracked files: ... Untracked files: (use "git add <file>..." to include in what will be committed) GitStash/NewClass.cs ... Sometimes it may be convenient to split the uncommitted changes into separate stashes. In this case, the git stash -p command will help: git stash -p For each change, hiding will be done separately, with a prompt for confirmation. Here are the options for confirmation: ? — to show all options y — to stash the change n — to not stash this part of the change q — to stash all selected parts and finish Viewing Specific Changes in a Stash The show command displays information about the changes in a specific stash, for example: git stash show GitStash/Program.cs    | 3 ++- GitStash/SomeModule.cs | 7 +++++- 2 files changed, 8 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-) You can also specify the index of a specific stash: git stash show 'stash@{1}' Example output: GitStash/SomeModule.cs | 5 ++++- 1 file changed, 4 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-) Clearing Changes from a Stash To remove a specific stash, you can use the drop command. If you don't specify an index, it will remove the most recent set of stashed changes: git stash drop Or: git stash drop 'stash@{1}' Output: Dropped stash@{1} (bedb3c2add59a3f203e2367602328dca8b33b6e9) To completely clear the stash storage, you can use the command: git stash clear Creating a New Branch from a Stash To create a new branch based on stashed changes, use the following command: git stash branch <branch name> <stash index> Or simply: git stash branch <branch name> For example: git stash branch some-feature stash@{2} How It Works The set of changes we hide in the stash is actually a series of commits. Running this command creates two or three commits: The commit stash@{0} contains the stashed files. The parent commit is the HEAD commit in Git's current working directory. If we run the command with the --keep-untracked flag, a separate commit will be created for the untracked files. What happens when you run the pop command? The stashed changes are returned to the repository's working copy and indexed by Git. Other stashes are shifted. The extracted commits are deleted. The .git/refs/stash file contains a reference to the last commit for the stash. cat .\.git\refs\stash Output: 07ea0c456356e883610f43c20d9cb298ff2ebb8a Use Cases Let's look at some common use cases for this mechanism in practice: Backup Before Merge or Rebase The merge / rebase commands are necessary when working with multiple branches. However, conflicts often arise that can cause important changes in the current working directory to be lost. Before performing a merge, ensure that the current branch is up to date, i.e., it doesn't contain unsaved changes. If you have unsaved changes that should be preserved before merging, run this command: git stash push -m "Backup before branch merge" Proceed with the merge, running merge or rebase. Conflicts may arise between the changes in the current branch and the changes in the other branch when executing these commands. You can resolve conflicts using either IDE tools or Git. After successfully completing the merge or rebase, you can restore the changes to the current working directory using apply or pop. Non-Debugging Changes The stash mechanism can also be helpful for working with non-debugging changes, such as temporary fixes, comments, or code formatting. Instead of committing these changes to the current commit, you can use git stash to save them temporarily. This helps in creating clean commits and improves the structure of the Git history. Effective Project Configuration Management Another scenario for using git stash is effectively managing project configurations. Depending on the task or environment you are working in, you might need to modify configuration files, but permanently saving them might not be practical. Saving different configurations Suppose there is a configuration file that defines the parameters for your application (e.g., config.json). You need several versions of this file for different use cases (e.g., local development, testing, and production). You can use the stash to save these configurations. # Saving the configuration for local development git stash save "Local configuration" # Saving the configuration for testing git stash save "Testing configuration" # Saving the configuration for the production environment git stash save "Production configuration" Applying configurations as needed When you need to switch between different configurations, simply use git stash apply or git stash pop to apply the corresponding stash: # Applying the configuration for testinggit stash apply stash@{1} Tips for Effective Using git stash Use clear stash descriptions. The default messages created for stashes usually don’t convey the essence of the changes — they’re simply an abbreviation like WIP, a commit ID, and the branch name: WIP on master: 099797d start Use the push or save commands to add descriptive messages, for example: git stash save "test configuration" Or: git stash push -m "Started working on issue #11 - added contract for the module" Check and clean your stashes. During long-term project development, you may accumulate a large number of changes that are no longer relevant. Use the list and show commands to view the changes and git stash drop to remove obsolete stashes. This mechanism is not intended for long-term data or change storage. Use stash with other commands. You can combine git stash with other commands, such as git stash branch, to create new branches, or with the rebase and merge commands to back up local changes. Conclusion In this article, we’ve explored the git stash command and its use cases. git stash is a powerful tool that can significantly simplify managing changes in your repository and improve your workflow. We’ve examined both basic and advanced scenarios for using this tool, including creating, applying, extracting, and managing stash entries.
07 March 2025 · 8 min to read

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