GitHub

GitHub is a public web server that helps developers store, manage and share their code projects. It is the most common server used by people managing Open Source software projects, where many developers work on the same code.

GitHub allows you to:

• keep a copy of your code repository on a remote server for safe keeping
• easily share your code project with other people
• contribute to other people’s code projects
• and more!

For example, this is our GitHub organization for the MDI project.

Learn the basics

There are many resources on the internet to introduce you to the basic concepts of GitHub. Take a look through the ones you find most useful:

• https://www.google.com/search?q=github+basics

Git vs. GitHub

Beginners often think that Git and GitHub are the “same thing”. They are not - you do not need GitHub to use Git. Git is a version control system. GitHub is a resource server that uses Git (among others like GitLab and BitBucket).

Get started with GitHub

Create an account

If you don’t already have a GitHub account, you’ll need to create one to work on the MDI codebase.

• https://github.com/

Create a Personal Access Token

Various GitHub tasks will be easier if you have a Personal Access Token (PAT), essentially a password to authorize access to your account. Learn more, and create your PAT here:

• https://docs.github.com/en/authentication/keeping-your-account-and-data-secure/creating-a-personal-access-token

Log in to GitHub in VS Code

As mentioned, VS Code and Git/GitHub play together very nicely. Please open VS Code and find the “Accounts” icon toward the bottom of the leftmost sidebar and use it to log in to your GitHub account.

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