How to Push Code to a GitHub Repository

I get lots of developers asking me how to push existing code in an existing project to a remote GitHub repository.
There are two ways to push an existing project to a GitHub repo:
- The easy way
- The proper way
The easy way? Simply clone the existing GitHub repo, copy your project code into the clone repository, and then push back to the server. Your existing project will be added to the GitHub repo in the cloud.
This way works if there are existing files in the GitHub repo.
Alternatively, you can do a git init in your existing project, then create a new GitHub repository, and add the GitHub repo as a remote. Then you push.
A lot can go wrong in this approach. Often the branch name of main or master is incorrect and can cause a problem.
Furthermore, if there is code in the repo already, this will fail. You'll need to force the Git push.
Personally, I think the easy way to add existing code to a GitHub repo is the right approach. Others say adding the remote reference is the right way to add a project to an existing GitHub server.
Let me know what you think in the comments!

Пікірлер: 85

  • @cameronmcnz
    @cameronmcnz11 ай бұрын

    There a full tutorial on how to push an existing project to a new GitHub repo over on TheServerSide: www.theserverside.com/blog/Coffee-Talk-Java-News-Stories-and-Opinions/How-to-push-an-existing-project-to-GitHub

  • @Frankie_Freedom
    @Frankie_Freedom10 ай бұрын

    This actually clears it up, I don't use github much, but what I always had a hard time understanding was switching repos. Now I see that you do the setup on each separate folder that you are attaching to each different repo

  • @cameronmcnz

    @cameronmcnz

    10 ай бұрын

    Yup! That's exactly how it works!

  • @dominicabah5431
    @dominicabah54316 ай бұрын

    Thank you so much! I got drifted here for something else and this helped clear that as well.

  • @cameronmcnz

    @cameronmcnz

    6 ай бұрын

    Happy that you drifted in this direction! And super glad I could help!

  • @DJ_Melech
    @DJ_Melech9 ай бұрын

    Thanks for this. The "proper" way you did first time solved my issue.

  • @cameronmcnz

    @cameronmcnz

    6 ай бұрын

    Happy to have helped! Thanks for watching and commenting.

  • @ivanphone4917
    @ivanphone491711 ай бұрын

    I like the easy approach to adding a project to GitHub. Much easier to push existing code to GitHub that way.

  • @cameronmcnz

    @cameronmcnz

    11 ай бұрын

    Trying to make adding new projects to GitHub as easy as I can!

  • @reamageorge9648
    @reamageorge96482 ай бұрын

    Thank you so much, got what I needed in the first 5 mins.

  • @kabwere
    @kabwere5 ай бұрын

    This has helped me with my first repo. Thank you!

  • @cameronmcnz

    @cameronmcnz

    5 ай бұрын

    Glad I could help! Git and GitHub gets a lot easier once you get the initial connectivity all worked out!

  • @asimdhali6447
    @asimdhali644710 ай бұрын

    At last I find the effective video, thanks this tutorial helps me lot

  • @cameronmcnz

    @cameronmcnz

    10 ай бұрын

    Glad I could help!

  • @RandallNewman
    @RandallNewman7 ай бұрын

    Thank you! The -f approach is what I needed actually!!

  • @cameronmcnz

    @cameronmcnz

    7 ай бұрын

    Sounds rather unchristian when you put it that way, but I'm glad it helped! Just know that forcing a commit onto a repo shared with others might mess up their repos, so others might have to do a fresh clone the next time they fetch from the server. Of course, if this is just the first setup operation, it shouldn't matter. People won't be pulling from the repo until the project is set up in git.

  • @RandallNewman

    @RandallNewman

    7 ай бұрын

    This was the first commit on a repo I created on bitbucket and had the .gitgnore checked. When I did that I was like -fooey! Then I found your video and all is well. Thanks again.

  • @SrihariVemana-on6nk
    @SrihariVemana-on6nk9 ай бұрын

    Thank you so much, this was very helpful!

  • @cameronmcnz

    @cameronmcnz

    6 ай бұрын

    Did you use the cheat method or the proper method?

  • @nickl3135
    @nickl31354 ай бұрын

    You the man, thanks for the clear instructions ! I swear Github can be quite the pain at times.

  • @cameronmcnz

    @cameronmcnz

    4 ай бұрын

    Glad I could help! I actually uploaded a newer video to show some alternatives to the force push. Some clone shenanigans and some git rebase options. Plus, I'm improved my mic and camera. I put together a 2 hour Git and GitHub video as well. Honestly, once you start to understand the philosophy behind Git and GitHub, it all falls into place and becomes a lot easier! www.theserverside.com/blog/Coffee-Talk-Java-News-Stories-and-Opinions/How-to-push-an-existing-project-to-GitHub

  • @nickl3135

    @nickl3135

    4 ай бұрын

    @@cameronmcnz Great, I will definitely be checking those videos out, need to gain some further understanding !

  • @smartoluwamuyiwabeyioku8766
    @smartoluwamuyiwabeyioku8766Ай бұрын

    You can use the command "git switch -c branch_name" to create another branch and you can go ahead and run the "git push -u origin branch_name", and it works fine

  • @bautipiaggio
    @bautipiaggio9 ай бұрын

    Very useful my man, thank you very much

  • @cameronmcnz

    @cameronmcnz

    9 ай бұрын

    Things get a lot easier with Git and GitHub once you get stuff like this out of the way, I promise!

  • @lastvoyager7847
    @lastvoyager78474 ай бұрын

    Thanks man. You helped a lot!

  • @cameronmcnz

    @cameronmcnz

    4 ай бұрын

    Glad I could help. Git and GitHub gets a lot easier when these connectivity issues are out of the way. Happy Git!

  • @VICTORGITAU-do5oh
    @VICTORGITAU-do5ohАй бұрын

    the way he said "i don't care" 😂😂😂😂😂

  • @cameronmcnz

    @cameronmcnz

    Ай бұрын

    It's all a lie. I actually do care. Thanks for watching!

  • @kirklimbu
    @kirklimbu4 ай бұрын

    Thanks for simplifying. It helped.

  • @cameronmcnz

    @cameronmcnz

    4 ай бұрын

    I was worried I overcomplicated it! Once you get Git and GitHub integrated, the whole Git experience becomes a whole lot easier. Thanks for watching and subscribing.

  • @peacemunii910
    @peacemunii9103 ай бұрын

    This was great thank you!

  • @cameronmcnz

    @cameronmcnz

    3 ай бұрын

    Happy to be of service!

  • @ascertain3987
    @ascertain39875 ай бұрын

    Very helpful tutorial.

  • @cameronmcnz

    @cameronmcnz

    5 ай бұрын

    Thanks for the kind words! Once you get your local Git project pushed to GitHub, things get a lot easier.

  • @mintiankai
    @mintiankai8 ай бұрын

    Thanks. It is helpful.😀

  • @cameronmcnz

    @cameronmcnz

    6 ай бұрын

    Glad I could help!

  • @arhampersonal
    @arhampersonal9 ай бұрын

    Thank you soo much sir 🙂❤️

  • @cameronmcnz

    @cameronmcnz

    6 ай бұрын

    Glad I could help!

  • @prtk2verma
    @prtk2verma27 күн бұрын

    ❤❤bro handled it sarcastically

  • @alexdominguess
    @alexdominguess15 күн бұрын

    Using the git UI is the best and easier option

  • @cameronmcnz

    @cameronmcnz

    15 күн бұрын

    Which one? The Git GUI that comes with the install? I was thinking of doing a long-form video on that, actually.

  • @TerryGoh-zg6ru
    @TerryGoh-zg6ru12 күн бұрын

    Thank you for the easy way. Any idea how to easily push new or modified codes from our existing cloned repository in our computer to the github repository? Thank you.

  • @gabehorno
    @gabehorno10 ай бұрын

    I swear to god Git is the most confusing shit ever to use. It was easier to learn C++ than to use Github

  • @cameronmcnz

    @cameronmcnz

    6 ай бұрын

    I put together this Git and GitHub tutorial just for you. I'm going to make you love Git! kzread.info/dash/bejne/nmat1Kytp9Kpj6g.htmlsi=e8RJQt1T71B0u_zB

  • @berndblubb5243

    @berndblubb5243

    2 ай бұрын

    @@cameronmcnz I am afraid I have to ack @gabhorno's comment. All programs using subcommands seem to be overly complicated and obscured. I assume most programmer's just want to do a bit of version manament, without having to travel a long learning curve and get frustrated by confusing terms like origin, master, HEAD, and other badly explained terms. From my point of view for most smaller development teams systems like svn or even cvs are much better suited for their purposes than git.

  • @geriatricprogrammer4364

    @geriatricprogrammer4364

    25 күн бұрын

    Git stash deploy reinstated old versions of files...git is like a loaded gun and I'm the toddler playing with it about to blow my head off.

  • @_sorridente_
    @_sorridente_10 ай бұрын

    A friend shared this video with me; I like your teaching style and have subscribed. Is there a reason you haven't updated your default branch from master to main?

  • @cameronmcnz

    @cameronmcnz

    10 ай бұрын

    The latest Git install still defaults to master, and I try to keep my tutorials as standard as possible, so that is often a reason. I'm surprised I didn't point it out in this video, but in almost all videos I do I mention the switch to main and that such a naming strategy is now preferred. It actually causes a lot of problems when a Jenkins server defaults to looking for master (which the latest version still does), while the latest GitHub repo only has main. It's a topic I've written about a lot over on TheServerSide. Here's an article from 2019: www.theserverside.com/opinion/Master-slave-terminology-alternatives-you-can-use-right-now Also one specifically about Git and GitHub: www.theserverside.com/feature/Why-GitHub-renamed-its-master-branch-to-main Sadly, the transition has been slow.

  • @cameronmcnz

    @cameronmcnz

    10 ай бұрын

    Oh, and send my appreciation to your friend. And to you for subscribing!

  • @Stylemoongirl
    @Stylemoongirl9 ай бұрын

    After paste my url in comman, I didn't get any new folder called .git in my repos folder! there just one file read me! why???

  • @cameronmcnz

    @cameronmcnz

    9 ай бұрын

    It's a hidden file, so to see the .git folder you'd need to change your folder settings to show hidden files. Windows? I think from Git BASH you can do an ls -a command and it shows hidden folders too! Also, just run the git status command in that folder. If the command works, you're good!

  • @Stylemoongirl

    @Stylemoongirl

    9 ай бұрын

    @@cameronmcnz this really works Thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaank youuuuuuuuuu I spent 2 weeks to solve this problem with github! this really works THANKSSSSSSSSSSSS

  • @fuhayho
    @fuhayho3 ай бұрын

    thanks for helping me LOL

  • @cameronmcnz

    @cameronmcnz

    3 ай бұрын

    You helped yourself by finding the resource you needed. That's what being a dev is all about - knowing how to find the answers. The only person to thank is yourself!

  • @sunnykwan5630
    @sunnykwan563010 ай бұрын

    How do you make version control on the approach of copying folder. I guess what you modify in the original folder will not affect the copied folder. So, whenever u change something in your project, that will actually not recorded.

  • @cameronmcnz

    @cameronmcnz

    10 ай бұрын

    Yeah, you'd just start doing development in the folder where you copied everything. Or, you can just copy the hidden .git folder that gets created in the new folder back into the original one. That's where Git keeps all ofits files.

  • @sunnykwan5630

    @sunnykwan5630

    10 ай бұрын

    @@cameronmcnz ok thank you so much. Already done it.

  • @cameronmcnz

    @cameronmcnz

    10 ай бұрын

    How did it work? @@sunnykwan5630

  • @sunnykwan5630

    @sunnykwan5630

    10 ай бұрын

    @@cameronmcnz I just use your way by copying the folder

  • @cameronmcnz

    @cameronmcnz

    10 ай бұрын

    I hope I didn't overcomplicate things. My hope was to make it a bit easier than editing remote references in a config file. Have fun with Git! @@sunnykwan5630

  • @arhampersonal
    @arhampersonal8 ай бұрын

    thanks a lot ( :

  • @cameronmcnz

    @cameronmcnz

    6 ай бұрын

    You're most welcome!

  • @HaifengZhu-pn3uq
    @HaifengZhu-pn3uq6 ай бұрын

    When I right click on my computer, it doesn't have "Open Git Bash"

  • @cameronmcnz

    @cameronmcnz

    6 ай бұрын

    If you're using Windows, you need to install Git. But I've got you covered with this video on installing Git here: kzread.info/dash/bejne/a3d12diEma-vc9Y.htmlsi=fszI9fIvBrDmT-Od

  • @user-qp8zy2wp6g
    @user-qp8zy2wp6g9 ай бұрын

    excellent

  • @cameronmcnz

    @cameronmcnz

    6 ай бұрын

    Glad I could be of assistance!

  • @sen7826
    @sen78269 ай бұрын

    But if we do it the easy way, we seem to have to lose any git history in our local folder. I would like to do it the easy way but I don't want to lose the history either

  • @cameronmcnz

    @cameronmcnz

    9 ай бұрын

    For this video, I'm never sure if people have a new, fresh project without git, or an existing git repo with its own history merging into another one with a history. I kinda assumed the local project had no git. You just want to get it to GitHub. In your situation, a rebase may be better than a forced merge!

  • @sen7826

    @sen7826

    9 ай бұрын

    @@cameronmcnz thank you

  • @donaldleclerc8021
    @donaldleclerc802111 ай бұрын

    What about a git pull --rebase then git push instead of rewriting the remote history with - f ?

  • @cameronmcnz

    @cameronmcnz

    11 ай бұрын

    Actually, I was going to add that as a third option but everyone always gets intimidated by a rebase. I might add that to the actual article I wrote on theserverside. It's a smart suggestion. www.theserverside.com/blog/Coffee-Talk-Java-News-Stories-and-Opinions/How-to-push-an-existing-project-to-GitHub

  • @cameronmcnz

    @cameronmcnz

    6 ай бұрын

    On your suggestion I added the rebase option to this video here on git remote add origin. kzread.info/dash/bejne/nKVltLF7l9Crqto.html

  • @mindhealth4393
    @mindhealth43939 ай бұрын

    The push* is not working for me. does anyone knows why. i am using mac. i got zsh: no matches found: push*

  • @cameronmcnz

    @cameronmcnz

    9 ай бұрын

    Are you on the main or master branch? Make sure the same branch exists both on the server and client. Git still defaults to master. GitHub to main. You might need to create a master branch on GitHub.

  • @daydreamers8254
    @daydreamers82545 ай бұрын

    my VSC terminal is demanding i authenticate my github on a website which is asking for INSANE amounts of money per month...i did everything right in the gitbash terminal for my project the repoository exists but the project will NOT upload unless i shell out money. it's been free and i've been using it for free for YEARS so WTF is going on?!?!

  • @cameronmcnz

    @cameronmcnz

    5 ай бұрын

    Is it GitHub that is asking for money? That doesn't seem right to me.

  • @daydreamers8254

    @daydreamers8254

    5 ай бұрын

    @@cameronmcnzplease help me (also why are my comments gone / not showing up) i just typed a long important comment bout how i ot it work finally only for it to all vanish on commenting. now i forgot. and it won't work again, and there's no more money issues popping up. it just simply won't work. i use VSC so i have Bash terminal In the project directory ALREADY. then i do the following: git init git add . git commit -m "message here" git remote add origin (paste in repo URL) git push -u origin master and it doesn't go to the repo. even if i get the error you got, and do the thing you did, still nothing happens. the ONLY thing that DOES happen is a git folder is made, a repo is made, and a readme.md is made. but the project never makes it. i wish to the good lawd i wrote it down or put it in a notepad... anything to remember the easiest part of coding. i can tell you build orders from all 4 races in wc3 roc that came out in 2001 or 02, same witht its expansion, in all match ups even map based, naming hotkeys, naming hero ability hotkeys, it's SAD i can remember something from 20 years ago so well but i can't remember something from 15 hours ago that worked... even with videos and github showing you "how to do it" - it still does NOT work.... idk what to do bro, unless you can get on discord (make a throw away or join my 0 budget one...) i honestly give up for trying to upload to github tonight. unless you reply, PLEASE reply, i D O apologize for my spam comments and SUPEr LONG messages... but i can not help it...

  • @user-tm5gx9iu6q
    @user-tm5gx9iu6q11 ай бұрын

    How can I edit existing files?

  • @cameronmcnz

    @cameronmcnz

    11 ай бұрын

    The ones on GitHub or the ones locally on your file system? GitHub has an online editor for files you have pushed from your existing project to GitHub so long as you have appropriate permissions. Otherwise, just edit those files on the filesystem.

  • @Eag757
    @Eag7579 ай бұрын

    Academia think students have all day to work on a projects, and give instructions that were effective back in 2000's. Professors aren't adapt to fast pace modern world of tomorrow.

  • @cameronmcnz

    @cameronmcnz

    6 ай бұрын

    I'll try and stay up to date with my Git and GitHub tutorial! kzread.info/dash/bejne/nmat1Kytp9Kpj6g.htmlsi=e8RJQt1T71B0u_zB

  • @mehmeteminmese979
    @mehmeteminmese9796 ай бұрын

    Is it that easy ??????🤣🤣🤣🤣

  • @cameronmcnz

    @cameronmcnz

    6 ай бұрын

    When you follow my git tutorials it is!!!

Келесі