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Linking VS Code to GitHub Repositories

Code effortlessly in Visual Studio Code and sync with your GitHub Repositories

Posted by Marc Cubells on Thu, Oct 5, 2023

Visual Studio Code (VS Code) is a powerful code editor that has become increasingly popular among developers. One of its many strengths is the ability to integrate seamlessly with version control systems, especially GitHub. This guide will walk you through the process of connecting VS Code to your GitHub repositories, making it easier than ever to code, commit, and push.

Prerequisites

Quickstart Guide

1. Install the GitHub Extension for Visual Studio Code

Before connecting to a GitHub repository, you’ll need to have the GitHub extension installed.

  1. Open VS Code.
  2. Navigate to the Extensions view by clicking on the square icon on the sidebar, or press Ctrl+Shift+X.
  3. Search for “GitHub” in the search bar.
  4. Find the official GitHub Repositories extension provided by GitHub and click Install.

github_extension

2. Clone Your Repository

Once you have the GitHub extension installed, you can clone your repository:

  1. Press F1 to open the command palette.

  2. Type Git: Clone and select it.

    image

  3. Enter your GitHub Repository’s URL.

  4. Choose a directory on your computer where you’d like to store the code.

  5. Open the cloned repository in VS Code.

3. Authenticate with GitHub

To push or pull changes, you’ll need to authenticate:

  1. In VS Code, open the command palette with F1.
  2. Type GitHub: Sign in and select it.
    image-1
  3. Follow the prompts to authenticate using either a token or your login credentials.

4. Making Changes and Pushing to GitHub

With the repository cloned and authentication set up, you can now make changes to your code:

  1. Make changes to your files in VS Code.
  2. Open the Source Control panel by clicking the branching icon on the sidebar.
  3. Click the Commitbutton to commit your changes:
    image-6
  4. Click the Sync Changes button to push your commits to your GitHub Repository.
    image-7

5. Pulling Changes from GitHub

If you’re working in a team or across different machines, you might want to pull the latest changes from GitHub:

  1. Open the Source Control panel by clicking the branching icon on the sidebar.
  2. Click the ... icon and choose Pull to fetch the latest updates.
    image-4

Conclusion

Connecting VS Code to a GitHub repository offers a seamless development experience. By integrating these tools, you can enjoy the robust code editing features of VS Code while easily tracking and managing changes with GitHub. Embrace this setup to streamline your coding and collaboration endeavors!

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