# Setup: Install Git, Git Bash, and connect to GitHub

Install Git for Windows, make Git Bash your terminal, create a GitHub account, and tell Git who you are.

Novice · Operating System · Git · Updated October 29, 2026

## After this lesson you can

- Make Git Bash the default profile in Windows Terminal
- Configure Git on Windows with your name, email, default branch, and editor

## Key takeaways

- Git for Windows installs Git, Git Bash, and Git Credential Manager together.
- Set Default profile to Git Bash on the Startup page of Windows Terminal's Settings, so every new window opens in Git Bash.
- git config --global sets your name, your email, the default branch name (main), and the editor Git opens (code --wait).
- Use the same email for Git as for GitHub, so GitHub can link your commits to your account.
- git config --global --list shows what you set. Running a git config command again replaces the old value.

**Windows only.** Git saves the history of your code. GitHub stores that history online. In this exercise you install **Git for Windows**, which also gives you **Git Bash** and **Git Credential Manager**, then create your GitHub account and set Git up to use both.

## Install Git for Windows

The Git installer asks many questions. You will change three answers, so run it with `--interactive` to see its windows. In Windows Terminal (PowerShell), run:

```powershell
winget install -e --id Git.Git --interactive
```

Click **Yes** if Windows asks whether the app may make changes. Then go through the installer. Click **Next** on every page, **except** these three:

1. **Select Components**: check **Add a Git Bash Profile to Windows Terminal**.
2. **Choosing the default editor used by Git**: open the list and choose **Use Visual Studio Code as Git's default editor**.
3. **Adjusting the name of the initial branch in new repositories**: choose **Override the default branch name for new repositories** and make sure the box says `main`.

Leave every other page as it is. Click **Install**, then **Finish**.

## Make Git Bash your terminal

Close Windows Terminal completely and open it again.

1. Click the arrow beside the **+** button. You should now see **Git Bash** in the list.
2. Click **Settings** in that list (or press **Ctrl+,**).
3. On the **Startup** page, set **Default profile** to **Git Bash**.
4. Click **Save**, then close the Settings tab.

Close Windows Terminal and open it again. It now opens in Git Bash, with a prompt like this:

```text
alex@LAPTOP MINGW64 ~
$
```

From now on, run every command in **Git Bash**. Check where you are:

```bash
pwd
```

You should see `/c/Users/` followed by your username: your home folder.

## Create your GitHub account

If you already have a GitHub account, sign in at [github.com](https://github.com) and skip to the next section.

Otherwise, go to [github.com/signup](https://github.com/signup) and create a free account:

- Use an email address you will keep after the bootcamp.
- Choose a username you would be happy to show an employer. Your GitHub profile becomes part of your portfolio.

GitHub sends a code to your email to confirm it. Enter the code to finish.

## Tell Git who you are

Every commit you make is signed with a name and an email. Use your real name, and the **same email you used for GitHub**, so GitHub can link your commits to your account. Replace the example values with your own:

```bash
git config --global user.name "Alex Rivera"
git config --global user.email "alex.rivera@example.com"
```

The installer already set your branch name and editor for this copy of Git. Set them in your own settings too, so they show up in the check below and stay set if Git is reinstalled:

```bash
git config --global init.defaultBranch main
git config --global core.editor "code --wait"
```

The first names the main branch of every new repository `main`, the same name GitHub uses. The second tells Git to open VS Code when it needs you to type a message, and to wait until you close that file.

## Check your work

```bash
git --version
git config --global --list
git config --get credential.helper
```

You should see:

- `git version 2.` followed by more numbers, and `windows`
- your `user.name`, your `user.email`, `init.defaultbranch=main`, and `core.editor=code --wait`
- `manager`, which means Git Credential Manager will sign you in to GitHub

You will push your first code to GitHub, and see Git Credential Manager in action, in the last Setup exercise.

## Common problems

| What you see | What to do |
|---|---|
| No **Git Bash** in the profile list | Run the install command again and check **Add a Git Bash Profile to Windows Terminal** on the **Select Components** page. Or open **Git Bash** from the Start menu for now. |
| `git: command not found` in PowerShell | Close every Windows Terminal window and open a new one. |
| A typo in your name or email | Run the same `git config --global` command again with the correct value. It replaces the old one. |
| `credential.helper` prints nothing | Run `git config --global credential.helper manager`, then check again. |

## Check yourself

2 questions to try on the lesson page.

## So what

Every commit you make from now on carries the name and email you set here, and every new window opens in Git Bash, ready for the commands in the lessons.

## Key terms

- git config
- Default branch

Source: https://www.ask-codey.com/lessons/os-and-terminal-tools-windows-setup-git-and-github