Common Terminology

Git has a lot of jargon. Here is a quick reference to help you speak the language.

Repository (Repo)

A folder containing all your project files and revision history.

Commit

A snapshot of your changes. Like a 'save point' in a game.

Stage (Index)

The area where you prepare files before committing them.

Branch

A parallel version of your code. Used to work on features in isolation.

Merge

Combining changes from one branch into another.

Clone

Downloading a copy of a remote repository to your local machine.

Fork

A copy of someone else's repository on your own GitHub account.

Pull Request (PR)

A request to merge your changes into the original repository.

Remote

A version of your repository hosted on the internet (e.g., GitHub).

Origin

The default name for the remote repository you cloned from.

Upstream

The original repository you forked from.

HEAD

A pointer to the latest commit on your current branch.

Conflict

When Git can't automatically merge changes because lines overlap.