1. Initialize Git in Your Django Project
First, you need to set up Git in your project directory. If you haven’t already installed Git, you can download and install it from Git's official site.
Step | Command/Action | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
Open Terminal | Navigate to your project directory using the terminal or command prompt. | |
cd path_to_your_project | Replace path_to_your_project with the path where your Django project is located. | |
git init | Initializes a new Git repository in your Django project directory. This will create a .git directory. | |
git status | Optional: Check the status to see which files are untracked or modified. |
2. Create a .gitignore File
It's important to tell Git which files should not be tracked. This typically includes files with sensitive information, like settings.py, and other non-source code files like __pycache__ directories.
Step | Command/Action | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
Create a file named .gitignore in your project root. | This file specifies intentionally untracked files to ignore. | |
Edit .gitignore | Add the following entries: <br> *.pyc <br> __pycache__/ <br> db.sqlite3 <br> .vscode/ <br> *.env | |
git add .gitignore | Adds the .gitignore file to staging. |
3. Commit Your Changes
After setting up .gitignore, you need to add your project files to the staging area and commit them.
Step | Command/Action | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
git add . | Adds all the files in your project directory, respecting .gitignore, to the staging area. | |
git commit -m "Initial commit" | Commits the staged files to your repository with a message describing the commit. |
4. Push to GitHub
Next, you need to push your repository to GitHub. First, create a repository on GitHub.
Step | Command/Action | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
Go to GitHub and create a new repository | Navigate to http://GitHub.com , sign in, and create a new repository. Do not initialize it with a README, .gitignore, or License. | |
git remote add origin <repository_URL> | Replace <repository_URL> with your GitHub repository URL to set it as the remote. | |
git push -u origin master | Pushes your commits to GitHub. -u sets the upstream (default) for future pushes. |
5. Collaborate with Others
Allow others to collaborate by cloning your repository, making changes, and pushing updates.
Step | Command/Action | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
They clone the repository | git clone <repository_URL> | |
They make changes and commit locally | git commit -am "Describe changes" | |
They push changes | git push origin master | |
Merge their changes | You pull their changes with git pull and resolve any merge conflicts. |
6. Handle Merge Conflicts
If there are conflicts, they must be resolved manually in the conflicting files.
Step | Command/Action | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
Edit files | Open the conflicting files and make the necessary changes to resolve conflicts. | |
git add <file> | After resolving conflicts in a file, mark it as resolved by adding it to the staging area. | |
git commit | Commit the resolved changes. Git will insert a default commit message for merges. |
