What is GitHub?
Tags: github, beginners, tutorial, productivity
Published: 2023-03-17 13:19:43

GitHub is a cloud-based website and service that helps developers store and manage their code, as well as tracking and controlling changes to their code. To know exactly what GitHub is, you need to know two intertwined principles:

- Versioning
- Version control softwares

Both have been covered in past articles.

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GitHub is a company that provides a cloud-based Git repository hosting service. In short, it makes it much simpler for individuals and teams to use Git for version control and collaboration.

GitHub is so easy to use that some people use GitHub to manage other types of projects – for example, [to write books](http://braythwayt.com/2015/01/29/how-i-write-books-with-github-and-leanpub.html).

Anyone can register and host a public code repository for free, which makes GitHub particularly useful for open-source projects.

As a company, GitHub makes money by selling hosted private code repositories, as well as other enterprise plans that allow organizations to more easily manage team members and security.

###How to use GitHub?

To use GitHub **it is necessary to create a personal account or a team account**. There are those that are free, for individual users, and those that are intended for teams that use open source. If you want some perks, like having private repositories, you can purchase one of the paid options.

To create your account, [log into GitHub](https://github.com/) and fill in the requested data — name, email and password. In a few minutes, you will receive a confirmation email to start using the platform.

The first step, after confirming your e-mail, is to get to know the new environment. For that you can use the *Hello World Guide* that will guide you on how to create your first repository, make a branch or open a pull request.

###What is a Issues?

**Issues** on GitHub are a way to track problems, improvements, and bugs for your projects. They are similar to an email, except they can be shared and discussed with the rest of your team.

You can report bugs, typos and even a possible solution to a problem faced by a certain library.

###What is a Pull Request?

To propose the changes you've just made to other developers working on the same project, you must create a pull request. They are what make it so easy to work together on projects, as they are the main collaboration tool on GitHub.

###Github Codespaces

Another very interesting tool that few people know how to use is GitHub Codespaces.

> **“Ok.. what is GitHub CodeSpaces?”**
> 

It is a cloud-based, instant development environment that uses a container to provide common languages and tools for development.

It is configurable, allowing you to create a custom development environment for your project.

To create your codespace you just need to click on the green button written **“Code”** and then choose the option **“create codespace on main”**

![Image showing how to create a codespace](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/beawfypal2i7bcp9ll9f.png)

To learn more about I recommend these two articles written by [Pachi](https://twitter.com/pachicodes): 

~~It’s in brazilian protuguese, sorry~~

1 - **[Porque GitHub Codespaces é a melhor ferramenta para seu Workshop de programação](https://dev.to/github/porque-github-codespaces-e-a-melhor-ferramenta-para-seu-workshop-de-programacao-607)**
*Why GitHub Codespaces is the Best Tool for Your Coding Workshop*

2 - **[O que é GitHub Codespaces e como usar](https://dev.to/github/o-que-e-github-codespaces-e-como-usar-337f)**
*What is GitHub Codespaces and how to use it*

###Github no WordPress

If you already use WordPress, you should know how good it is to have the platform's plugins.

However, outside of WordPress, there are also a lot of plugins that can be used on the platform. One of these is GitHub.

To access them, there are two ways: installing a plugin from the GitHub platform or using a WordPress plugin to make the task easier.

####Installing a plugin from GitHub

To install a plugin from GitHub, you must first download it. Start typing the name of the plugin you need.

![wordpress plugin repository search on github](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/x0f8bwt81r6fs3yh2f60.png)

After finding it, the image that will appear will be this one, with the repository folders. To download it, just click on the green **“Code”** button and then select **“Download”**.

![Repository from choosen plugin](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/jragzn1makrso3r4e8mw.png)

Once you have the file, you will have to upload it to the **<u>/wp-content/plugins</u>** directory, either via FTP or cPanel.

####Install a plugin in WordPress itself

Before using GitHub on your WordPress platform, you must first install another plugin that allows you to embed the repositories directly in WP.

A recommended plugin is [Github Embed](https://embed.ly/provider/github). With it, you will be able to embed directories from GitHub by copying the URL.

![Github Embed plugin introduction page](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/fa7oxp5c2nuvbyotp5c9.png)

From here, just install the plugin following the WordPress instructions.

The material found on GitHub is quite extensive. Although most directories are for codes and software, the ease of the platform has attracted many users.

---

Github offers much more tools than the ones covered in this article, I just covered the basics for beginners to understand how the platform works.

Some examples of more advanced features are:

- Actions
- Packages
- Security

Maybe I'll address some of them in future articles, but for now we'll stop here...