Git mental model (for prototyping)

Goal

Use Git confidently enough that you don’t avoid it.

The 4 concepts you actually need

1. Working tree

• The files on your laptop.

2. Commit

• A named snapshot of your files.
• If you can’t undo a mistake, it’s usually because you didn’t commit.

3. Branch

• A label pointing at a series of commits.
• You make branches so you can change things without breaking main.

4. Remote (GitHub)

• A copy of your repo on the internet.
• You push/pull to sync.

Practical workflow (the happy path)

1. Make a branch

• git checkout -b my-change

2. Make a small change

3. Commit

• git status
• git add -A
• git commit -m "Explain what changed"

4. Push

• git push -u origin my-change

5. Open a PR

• Review + merge.

What to do when you’re scared

• Commit more often.
• Keep commits small.
• If you’re unsure, create a branch first. Branches are cheap.