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Working with GitHub from Linux CLI
This guide shows how to create and manage a GitHub repository entirely from the Linux command line.
1. Setup Git
sudo apt update
sudo apt install git
Configure your identity (used for commits):
git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "your.email@example.com"
Check configuration:
git config --list
2. Generate SSH Key (optional but recommended)
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "your.email@example.com"
Copy the public key:
cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub
Add it to GitHub under Settings → SSH and GPG keys → New SSH key.
Test connection:
ssh -T git@github.com
3. Create a Local Repository
mkdir my-project
cd my-project
git init
This creates a new Git repository in the folder.
Add a file and commit it:
echo "# My Project" > README.md
git add README.md
git commit -m "Initial commit"
4. Create a GitHub Repository from CLI
Go to https://github.com/new and create an empty repository manually.
Then connect it:
git remote add origin https://github.com/username/my-project.git
Using SSH (preferred)
git remote add origin git@github.com:username/my-project.git
Push the local repo to GitHub:
git branch -M main
git push -u origin main
5. Making Changes and Updating the Repository
Edit files as needed, then:
git status
git add .
git commit -m "Describe changes"
git push
To pull updates from GitHub:
git pull
6. Cloning Existing Repositories
git clone https://github.com/username/repository.git
# or
git clone git@github.com:username/repository.git
7. Branching
Create and switch to a new branch:
git checkout -b feature-branch
Push a new branch to GitHub:
git push -u origin feature-branch
Merge back to main:
git checkout main
git merge feature-branch
git push
Summary
- git init → Create a repo
- git add / commit → Stage and save changes
- git remote add origin → Link to GitHub
- git push / pull → Sync changes
- git branch / merge → Manage versions
