How to Configure GitHub Desktop with GitHub Account

Edited 3 weeks ago by ExtremeHow Editorial Team

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GitHub Desktop is a wonderful graphical interface that makes using Git and GitHub easy, especially for beginners who may not be very comfortable with the command line yet. It allows you to effortlessly manage your repositories, commit changes, synchronize branches, and much more. Below is a comprehensive guide on how you can configure GitHub Desktop with your GitHub account so that you can start managing your repositories effectively.

1. Download and install GitHub Desktop

The first step on this journey is to download GitHub Desktop.

1. Go to the GitHub desktop website.
2. Click the Download button. The download should begin immediately.
3. Once downloaded, open the installer file. Follow the installation instructions. Installation may vary slightly on different operating systems, but generally, it is straightforward. Just click “Next” or “Install” when prompted.

2. Launch GitHub Desktop

After installing GitHub Desktop, it's time to launch it. Find the GitHub Desktop application in your Applications folder or search for it in the Start menu (on Windows) or Launchpad (on Mac).

3. Sign in to your GitHub account

After opening GitHub Desktop, you will be asked to sign in to your GitHub account. This step is important because it connects your local application to your online GitHub profile.

1. GitHub Desktop usually asks you to choose between signing in from your browser or directly on the application.
2. Click Sign in using your browser. This action will redirect you to the GitHub sign-in page.
3. If you already have a GitHub account, enter your username or email and password and click Sign In.
4. If you don’t have an account, you will need to create one by clicking on Sign Up.

4. Authorize GitHub Desktop

Authorization allows GitHub Desktop to access your repository and perform actions on your behalf.

1. After you sign in, GitHub asks if you want to authorize GitHub Desktop.
2. Click Authorize to allow the actions.

5. Configure Git settings

GitHub Desktop simplifies many aspects of Git, but you may still need some basic Git configuration.

1. In GitHub Desktop, open the Preferences/Settings panel.
2. Set your name and email address under the "Git" tab. You can set your name as you want it to appear in your commits, and if possible it should match the email associated with your GitHub account.
3. The basic settings will look like this:

User Name: John Doe Email: johndoe@example.com

6. Clone the repository

Cloning a repository means creating a local copy of the repository on GitHub so that you can manage it locally.

1. Click File > Clone Repository.
2. A dialog appears, showing a list of repositories you have access to or are collaborating on from your GitHub account.
3. Select one of these repositories and set the directory where it will be located locally.
4. Click Clone to complete the process.

7. Creating a new repository

1. Click File > New Repository.
2. Fill in the name of the repository and set its local path.
3. You can also choose to initialize the repository with a README and a .gitignore file if you wish.
4. Once you have filled in the details, click on Create Repository.

8. Show commitment

Commits are like saving the state of your project at a particular point in time. It keeps a record of the changes made.

1. After making changes to your files, GitHub Desktop will list all changes found in the repository in the main window.
2. Select the changes you want to make.
3. Add a meaningful message describing the changes; this is important for future reference.
4. Click Commit on main (or your current branch) to save the changes.

9. Sync with GitHub

Sync your repository to push your local commits to a remote GitHub repository or pull changes from it.

1. Click Push origin to upload your commits to GitHub.
2. If there are changes on GitHub that are not yet in your local copy, click Fetch origin and then click Pull origin.

10. Making branches

Branches allow you to develop features, fix bugs, or experiment in an isolated codebase before merging it into the main or another branch.

1. Choose Branch > New Branch from the menu.
2. Type a descriptive name for your branch and press Enter.
3. When your branch is ready to be integrated with the base branch, click Branch > Merge into Current Branch.

11. Dealing with merge conflicts

Merge conflicts can occur when changes in your branch and another branch conflict. GitHub Desktop helps manage conflicts:

1. GitHub Desktop shows conflicting files after a failed merge attempt.
2. Manually review and modify these files to resolve conflicts.
3. Mark conflicts as resolved by applying the changes.

12. Summary

Setting up GitHub Desktop with your GitHub account is very easy. By following the steps above, you should now have a functional GitHub Desktop application connected to your GitHub account, ready to manage your repositories.

The main steps were to download and install the application, sign in to your GitHub account, authorize GitHub Desktop, and configure basic Git settings. You learned how to clone and create repositories, make commits, sync changes, create and manage branches, and handle merge conflicts.

With GitHub Desktop, managing your GitHub repositories becomes an intuitive, visual process, allowing you to focus more on writing code and less on memorizing commands.

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