Best Free Git Resources & Tutorials

Many professionals are eager to learn Git but hesitate because of the perceived up-front costs. While Git has no up-front costs, being free to learn and use, learning Git isn’t particularly useful without other coding knowledge, so users may need to judge how much training they will need. However, many free resources are available to help beginners get the hang of this exciting program. 

Read on to learn more about the different types of free resources and tutorials available to help you learn Git. 

What is Git?

Git is an open-source programming tool that allows users to effortlessly track the changes made during the early stages of software development. It allows individual programs to keep a record of the changes that they have made to easily restore or back-up earlier versions of their code and it allows teams of developers to record the changes that individual members make to a file or program. Designed to support distributed non-linear workflow, Git allows programmers to create non-linear histories and branched records of how a program has been developed over its time in Git.

Developed in 2005 for Linux, Git has since become one of the most commonly used distributed version control software. In 2022, nearly 94% of computer programmers report using Git as a vital part of their regular programming activities. This means that learning Git is an important skill for anyone hoping to undertake collaborative development projects, particularly in open-source communities where it is expected that many development histories will be documented using Git.

Read more about what Git is and why you should learn it. 

What Can You Do with Git?

Git can be used to ensure that you have a detailed record of all the changes being made to a file of code. Individual users can take advantage of this documentation to quickly restore or reconstruct prior versions of code or to see where specific changes were made if those changes came with unintended consequences. Groups of developers can use Git to collaborate more effectively on a shared file as the system will keep track of all the changes made independently, providing a stable record of how each developer impacted the file over time.

In addition, thanks to the prevalence of GitHub, learning Git will significantly expand a developer's ability to store and share their software. Since each instance of Git on a computer stores its own directory and history, the documentation on your programs is not operating at the whims of an external source or mainframe, making the histories far more stable. In addition, GitHub lets users publish and share code effortlessly, making community-driven collaboration all the more productive. Git and GitHub help fuel community-driven software development, and learning how to use these tools will ensure that you, too, can participate in these projects.

Free Resources

In a professional training environment, Git is rarely learned on its own. Rather, students taking web development or programming courses will learn the basic principles of Git during their lessons. Students looking to learn more about Git without committing to a development course will want to consider the free options available. Noble Desktop offers a brief tutorial in their What is Git & What is GitHub seminar shown on their official YouTube page. This course will give students an overview of the basic features and functions of Git, making it an ideal place to start learning how to use the software application.

Students will also want to explore the free learning options available through sources like GitLab and GitHub, which collect community resources for new users to learn and experiment with Git. Beyond this, because Git is open source, a large community of users comes together to build training resources, guides, and other tools for new users.

Students may also want to explore the free introductory options available through other service providers such as Udemy and Coursera. These providers offer asynchronous, on-demand learning options for students who want to learn Git without investing in a full web development or software engineering course.

Git Training or Web Development Training 

How effectively a student can utilize free Git training resources will largely depend on whether or not they plan on learning web development or computer science alongside their Git training. Students who plan on learning other skills will want to take advantage of free resources to aid those particular skills. Taking advantage of free training seminars such as Noble’s Introduction to Web Development class can give students the training they need to be prepared for their more formal web development training. It is in these training courses that most amateur programmers will learn to use Git, meaning that students must be ready when they arrive.

To learn more about the options available for free web development resources, head over to the Learn Web Development page on Noble’s website.

Key Insights

• Anyone interested in learning more about Git without investing in a full course should consider taking advantage of free training resources.
• Noble Desktop offers many free resources for students seeking Git and web development training.
• Git’s open-source nature means that communities of developers have produced many free training resources, both in small communities and through platforms like GitHub and GitLab.
• Once you’ve exhausted these resources, consider enrolling in a full-time web development class through Noble Desktop to learn more. These courses are available in-person and through live online instruction.

Learn Git with Hands-on Training at Noble Desktop

Since Git is an open-source efficiency tool, you’ll rarely find a course that strictly teaches students how to use it. Instead, students will learn Git as an essential complementary skill in more formal web development or programming course. This means that students looking to learn are aspiring to be programmers or developers, meaning that web development training will likely be a part of their future. To assist with this, Noble offers a wide variety of web development courses designed to fit your needs as a student.

At Noble, students can learn Git as part of their front end development training curriculum. In these training courses, students will learn the techniques required to program the client-facing, interactive web application elements, such as a webpage. In these classes, students will primarily focus on learning how to program using HTML/CSS and JavaScript, though advanced courses will also teach languages like React. In Noble’s Front End Web Development Certificate program, students will receive hands-on training in several important web development skills, including tracking and managing file changes using Git. With this training, students will be able to see how their programs develop over time, documenting a history of their work, and they will be able to see how Git is used to assist them in collaborative development projects. Since this is a career-focused course, the class assumes no prior coding experience, making this a good place to start for students hoping to enter the field of web development.

Noble also offers a more immersive Full Stack Web Development Certificate program that will teach students all the skills needed to work as Full Stack Web Developers (developers who handle both the client- and server-side elements of a webpage). While a part of this will be learning how to use Git to track and document changes to code, the vast majority of the course is comprised of intensive web development training courses in which students will learn HTML/CSS, JavaScript, Node, Express, MongoDB, React, and SQL. This course is perfect for anyone who wants to learn all the essential aspects of web development. Since this is a career-focused course, students will receive professionalization assistance, including one-on-one career mentorship and portfolio-building seminars.