Navigating the GitHub repository

A video and more detailed guide on how to navigate the common docs GitHub repository.

The below video is a quick tutorial on how to navigate this project on GitHub.

There are some terms used in the video:

• Repository: A repository is everything that is contained within the project. In this case, the repository is the website with the Issues, files, and subfolders for this project.
• Issue: An Issue is a task or to-do item that needs to be completed. These to-do items can be assigned to people and can be checked off as being done (“Closed”).
• Branch: A branch is a separate, parallel set of files and folders related to the project. In this project there is the “main” branch that only the admin can edit. In order to add content to the main branch, you need to create your own branch and create a pull request of your changes and additions that you want added to the main files. Branches and pull requests are heavily used in the “GitHub workflow” that this project (and many many others) use. More details about this are in the next section and video. Branches are in some ways like separate files that you would email between other contributors, but instead of everyone having different versions of the file, here they are all contained in the same place (in the repository).
• Pull request: A pull request is a request to add changes you’ve made to files in your branch and have them put into the main branch. When you make a pull request, it allows others to review what you’ve changed and make comments on it. Think of it like “Track changes” and the “Add comment” features of Word.

Note

This website and the documents contained within are aimed at researchers, PhD students, staff, and external collaborators.