Clone Repos and Create Your First GitHub Repository

Two operations make up the majority of your day-to-day work with GitHub. The first is cloning — downloading an existing project from GitHub to your computer. The second is creating — initializing a new project locally and pushing it to GitHub for the first time. Let’s learn both.

Cloning a repository

Cloning means downloading a complete project from GitHub, including all its files and its entire history.

Open your terminal in the right folder

Before cloning, navigate to where you want the project to live. Instead of using cd commands, use these shortcuts:

Mac: Right-click any folder in Finder → Services → New Terminal at Folder (or hold Option and right-click → Open in Terminal)Windows: Right-click any folder in File Explorer → Open in Terminal (or Shift + right-click → Open PowerShell window here)This opens the terminal already inside that folder — no navigation needed!

Clone a project

HTTPS (Recommended)
SSH

# Navigate to where you want the project saved
cd ~/Documents   # Mac
cd C:\Users\YourName\Documents   # Windows

# Clone using the HTTPS URL
git clone https://github.com/openai/openai-quickstart-python.git

# Enter the project folder
cd openai-quickstart-python

# Open in VS Code
code .

# Navigate to where you want the project saved
cd ~/Documents   # Mac
cd C:\Users\YourName\Documents   # Windows

# Clone using the SSH URL
git clone [email protected]:openai/openai-quickstart-python.git

# Enter the project folder
cd openai-quickstart-python

# Open in VS Code
code .

If code . doesn’t work, you need to enable the shell command first:Mac: Open VS Code → press Cmd+Shift+P → type Shell Command: Install ‘code’ command in PATH → press Enter → restart your terminal.Windows: During VS Code installation, check Add to PATH. If you missed it, reinstall VS Code and tick that option, or right-click the project folder and choose Open with Code.

After cloning, Git has downloaded all the project files and all of its commit history. You can now run, modify, and learn from the code immediately.

Keep all your cloned projects in a consistent location like ~/Documents/Projects or ~/repos. This makes them easy to find later.

Creating your own repository

Let’s put your python-for-ai project on GitHub so it’s backed up online.

Step 0: Create a .gitignore file first

Do this before anything else. Without a .gitignore, you might accidentally push your .venv folder to GitHub — it can be several gigabytes and will cause your push to fail or take an extremely long time.

Create a file called .gitignore in your project’s root folder and add this content:

# .gitignore — tells Git what NOT to track
.venv/
.env
__pycache__/
*.pyc
.DS_Store

Save the file. Git will now permanently ignore those files and folders.

Step 1: Create the repository on GitHub

Go to github.com and click the green New button (or click + → New repository)
Fill in the details:
- Repository name: python-for-ai
- Description: Learning Python for AI development
- Visibility: Choose Private for now — you can make it public later
Do not add a README, .gitignore, or license at this step
Click Create repository

Step 2: Connect your local project to GitHub

GitHub shows you the commands to use right after creating the repo. Run the appropriate set for your authentication method:

HTTPS (Recommended)
SSH

# Navigate to your project folder
cd ~/Documents/python-for-ai   # Mac
cd C:\Users\YourName\Documents\python-for-ai   # Windows

# Initialize Git
git init

# Stage all your files
git add .

# Create your first commit
git commit -m "Initial commit"

# Rename the branch to main
git branch -M main

# Connect to GitHub (replace YOUR-USERNAME with your actual username)
git remote add origin https://github.com/YOUR-USERNAME/python-for-ai.git

# Push your code
git push -u origin main

# Navigate to your project folder
cd ~/Documents/python-for-ai   # Mac
cd C:\Users\YourName\Documents\python-for-ai   # Windows

# Initialize Git
git init

# Stage all your files
git add .

# Create your first commit
git commit -m "Initial commit"

# Rename the branch to main
git branch -M main

# Connect to GitHub using SSH (replace YOUR-USERNAME)
git remote add origin [email protected]:YOUR-USERNAME/python-for-ai.git

# Push your code
git push -u origin main

When you push for the first time using HTTPS, Git will ask for your GitHub username and your personal access token (not your GitHub password). VS Code will remember the token so you won’t be asked again.

The daily workflow

Once your project is on GitHub, your routine is just three commands:

# After making changes to your code...

# Stage all changes
git add .

# Commit with a descriptive message
git commit -m "Add new feature"

# Upload to GitHub
git push

That’s 90% of everything you’ll ever do with Git.

Common tasks

Clone a repository using VS Code's UI

Press Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + P to open the Command Palette
Type Git: Clone and select it
Paste the repository URL
Choose a folder to save the project
VS Code opens the cloned project automatically

Private vs public repositories

Private — Only you (and anyone you invite) can see the repository. Good for learning projects and work-in-progress code.
Public — Anyone on the internet can see it. Good for portfolio projects and open-source work.

You can switch between private and public at any time in the repository’s Settings tab on GitHub.

What goes in .gitignore?

# .gitignore — tells Git what NOT to track
.venv/
.env
__pycache__/
*.pyc
.DS_Store

The .venv/ folder contains all your installed packages and can be several gigabytes. The .env file contains your secret API keys. Neither should ever go to GitHub.

Practice exercise

Try all three of these to build your muscle memory:

Clone any Python project on GitHub that interests you
Create a new repository for one of your practice scripts
Make a small change to that script, commit it, and push

What’s next?

VS Code has a built-in visual interface for all Git operations. Learn how to use it so you never have to leave your editor.

VS Code Git

Commit, push, and pull without touching the terminal

Developer Tools

Project Structure

Weather Project

Clone Repos and Create Your First GitHub Repository

Cloning a repository

Open your terminal in the right folder

Clone a project

Creating your own repository

Step 0: Create a .gitignore file first

Step 1: Create the repository on GitHub

Step 2: Connect your local project to GitHub

The daily workflow

Common tasks

Practice exercise

What’s next?

VS Code Git

​Cloning a repository

​Open your terminal in the right folder

​Clone a project

​Creating your own repository

​Step 0: Create a .gitignore file first

​Step 1: Create the repository on GitHub

​Step 2: Connect your local project to GitHub

​The daily workflow

​Common tasks

​Practice exercise

​What’s next?

VS Code Git

Cloning a repository

Open your terminal in the right folder

Clone a project

Creating your own repository

Step 0: Create a .gitignore file first

Step 1: Create the repository on GitHub

Step 2: Connect your local project to GitHub

The daily workflow

Common tasks

Practice exercise

What’s next?