GitHub

GitHub is a collaboration platform for developers that offers “version control” features for staging and tracking changes to code and related documents.

Why Use This Tool

Before GitHub, OSC kept most files in personal Google Drives. This created access and continuity issues for projects over time!
Now, all OSC projects have GitHub repositories within a common GitHub Organization
GitHub is the industry standard for collaborating on code-based projects (apps, automation, etc)
GitHub is also useful for projects focusing on docs, marketing, community
New volunteers can scroll through active project repo’s to find a way to engage

Installation and Setup

To participate in Open Source Commons, you need to have a (free) account with GitHub.com
We recommend using GitHub Desktop if you will be a frequent contributor and/or code engineer
Learn more about GitHub Setup on this Trailhead trail

Going Deeper

Here is an overview of GitHub features that OSC project teams commonly use

Repositories: contain a project’s files and editing history
Read Me file: we require each Repo to have a Read Me file. This is a great place to get started!
Issues: A combination of “to do” items including: new features, bugs, feedback, etc
Actions: A type of GitHub automation, generally used for testing purposes
Wiki: An area of a Repo that is ideal for storing documentation and other long-form writing
Releases: A way of packaging GitHub code for installation
Discussions: Threaded communication hub for discussion of Issues and other project related items
Branches: An experimental version of the Main repo, that may contain your personal contribution to the project
- Some Repos may have a “branch” naming convention
Pull requests: Feature for submitting your changes to the files in the repo, which can be tested and approved by project leaders