Installing Git, Configuration Scopes, Identity, Editors, and Credentials: Guided Hands-On Workflow and Core Operations

1. Preflight — do not replace a working installation blindly

First ask what is already installed. A machine can contain several Git distributions, and changing PATH or installers before inspecting them can create a harder problem.

Git Bash, Bash, or zsh

git --version
git --exec-path
command -v git
# Bash/zsh may also show every candidate:
type -a git

PowerShell

git --version
git --exec-path
Get-Command git -All | Select-Object CommandType, Source, Version
where.exe git

2. Current official installation paths

The Git project currently publishes platform-specific install guidance. Use the official page for your operating system because package names and maintained builds can change.

Windows

The official Git install page points to the maintained Git for Windows build and also documents a winget route:

winget install --id Git.Git -e --source winget

If you use the graphical installer instead, keep a record of choices that affect PATH, terminal integration, credential management, and line endings. The course does not assume Git Bash is your only shell.

macOS

# Homebrew
brew install git

# or Apple's Xcode Command Line Tools
xcode-select --install

MacPorts is another option. Whichever route you choose, verify which git your shell resolves afterward because Apple-provided and package-manager versions can coexist.

Linux

# Debian / Ubuntu
sudo apt-get install git

# Fedora
sudo dnf install git

# Arch Linux
sudo pacman -S git

# Alpine
sudo apk add git

Distribution repositories may intentionally ship a Git version different from upstream's newest release. “Latest for this OS release” and “latest upstream” are not always the same requirement.

3. Verify the executable after installation

git --version
git --exec-path
git help -a

git --exec-path reports where Git's core subprograms are installed. It is not necessarily the same path as the top-level git executable, so use your shell's command-resolution tools as well when multiple installations are suspected.

4. Create a disposable repository for configuration experiments

Do not experiment in a real project. Create a new directory and an explicit initial branch so the lesson does not assume main or master.

Git Bash, Bash, or zsh

mkdir git-config-lab
cd git-config-lab
git init -b trunk
git status --short --branch

PowerShell

New-Item -ItemType Directory git-config-lab | Out-Null
Set-Location git-config-lab
git init -b trunk
git status --short --branch

Expected observation: the repository is empty, on trunk, and has no commits. Creating the repository writes repository-local metadata under .git; it does not configure your remote credentials.

5. Trace the configuration Git actually sees

git config --list --show-origin --show-scope
git config --show-origin --show-scope --get-regexp '^(user|core|credential|init)\.'

On a clean machine the second command may print little or nothing. On a developer workstation it may reveal global defaults, installer-created settings, included files, or local values.

6. Set identity only in the disposable repository

Repository-local configuration is safer for a lab because it does not change unrelated projects.

git config --local user.name "Config Lab Learner"
git config --local user.email "config-lab@example.invalid"

git config --show-origin --show-scope --get user.name
git config --show-origin --show-scope --get user.email

The .invalid top-level domain is intentionally non-routable for examples. The values become commit metadata; they are not login credentials.

7. Make a tiny commit so the identity becomes observable history

printf "configuration lab
" > README.md
git status --short
git add README.md
git diff --staged
git commit -m "Add configuration lab README"
git log -1 --format=fuller

The fuller log view shows both author and committer metadata. In an ordinary commit they often match, but Git models them separately.

8. Configure and test editor selection without depending on one editor

First inspect the effective choice:

git var GIT_EDITOR

For a real workstation, choose an editor that is actually installed. Examples include code --wait, vim, nano, or notepad on Windows. Configure it locally while learning:

git config --local core.editor "code --wait"
git var GIT_EDITOR

If VS Code is not installed or code is not on PATH, choose a different editor instead of copying this value. To test safely, run git commit --allow-empty without -m; your configured editor should open. Save a short message to create the empty lab commit, or exit/cancel and inspect git status. Then remove the lab-specific setting if you do not want it:

git config --local --unset core.editor

9. Understand and test the pager

git var GIT_PAGER
git log --oneline --decorate
git --no-pager log --oneline --decorate

If output seems “stuck” on a screen with a prompt such as : or (END), a pager such as less may be active. Press q to quit it. --no-pager is a safe per-command diagnostic; it does not rewrite configuration.

10. Inspect credential-helper configuration without revealing credentials

git config --show-origin --show-scope --get-all credential.helper

This query prints helper names/configuration, not stored passwords or tokens. Do not run helper-specific dump commands or paste credential-store files into a troubleshooting log. On Windows, Git Credential Manager is commonly available with Git for Windows; other platforms may use different helpers or none.

11. Challenge — choose the inspection tool from the symptom

Without copying a sequence, decide which command answers each question:

1. “Which Git executable is this shell resolving?”
2. “Which file supplied my effective user.email?”
3. “What editor will Git launch?”
4. “What credential helper names are configured?”

Then verify your answers using command-resolution tools, git config --show-origin --show-scope, git var GIT_EDITOR, and a credential-helper config query.

12. Cleanup

Return to the parent directory, verify the disposable directory name, then remove only the lab. Do not use recursive deletion on a valuable repository.

Git Bash, Bash, or zsh

cd ..
pwd
rm -rf git-config-lab

PowerShell

Set-Location ..
Get-Location
Remove-Item -Recurse -Force git-config-lab

13. Knowledge check

14. Summary

Installation is complete only when you know which executable runs. Configuration is trustworthy only when you can trace its origin/scope. Identity is safe only when you distinguish metadata from authentication, and editor/pager/helper behavior is predictable only when you can identify the external tool Git will invoke.

Authoritative references

• Install Git on Windows
• Install Git on macOS
• Install Git on Linux
• git-config
• gitcredentials