Installing Visual Studio Code

Before installing Git, let's set up Visual Studio Code — a powerful code editor with excellent Git integration. Follow the instructions below for your operating system:

Windows, macOS and Linux

1. Visit the official VS Code website: https://code.visualstudio.com/
2. Click the download button for your operating system.
3. Run the installer and follow the on-screen instructions.
4. After installation, open Visual Studio Code to confirm it works correctly.

Visual Studio Code offers excellent Git integration, including:

• Visual diff of file changes
• Staging and committing changes directly from the UI
• Commit history viewer
• Merge conflict resolution
• GitHub and remote repository integration

Installing Git

Now that VS Code is ready, let's install Git. Follow the instructions for your operating system:

Git installation process demonstration

Windows

1. Visit the official Git website: Git for Windows
2. Download and run the installer.
3. Follow the installer steps, keeping the default options.
4. After installation, open VS Code, press Ctrl+` to open the integrated terminal and type git --version to verify the installation.

macOS

1. Open the Terminal in VS Code (Ctrl+`).
2. Install Homebrew (if not already installed):
   /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
3. Install Git with Homebrew:
   brew install git
4. Verify the installation by typing git --version in the VS Code terminal.

Linux (Ubuntu/Debian)

1. Open the Terminal in VS Code (Ctrl+`).
2. Update system packages:
   sudo apt update
3. Install Git:
   sudo apt install git
4. Verify the installation by typing git --version.

Configuring Git in VS Code

After installing Git, VS Code will automatically detect it. To start using Git in VS Code:

1. Open a project or folder in VS Code.
2. Click the Source Control icon in the left sidebar (branch icon).
3. Click "Initialize Repository" to start a new Git repository, or use Git commands directly in the integrated terminal.

You're now ready to use Git with Visual Studio Code!