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Two things you’ll do often

  1. Clone - Download existing projects from GitHub
  2. Create - Start new projects and upload them
Let’s learn both.

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Cloning a repository

Cloning means downloading a project from GitHub to your computer.

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Example: Clone an AI project

Let’s clone a real project to see how it works:
Pro tip: Instead of using cd to navigate:Mac: Right-click a folder in Finder > Services > New Terminal at Folder (or hold Option and right-click > “Open in Terminal”)Windows: Right-click a folder in File Explorer > “Open in Terminal” (or Shift + right-click > “Open PowerShell window here”)This opens the terminal already in that folder!
If code . doesn’t work, you need to enable it first:Mac:
  1. Open VS Code
  2. Press Cmd + Shift + P
  3. Type “Shell Command: Install ‘code’ command in PATH”
  4. Press Enter
  5. Restart your terminal
Windows:
  1. During VS Code installation, check “Add to PATH”
  2. If you missed it, reinstall VS Code and check that option
  3. Or manually: Right-click project folder > “Open with Code”
That’s it! You now have the entire project on your computer.

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What just happened?

  • Git downloaded all files
  • Git downloaded all history
  • You can now run, modify, and learn from this code
Always clone into a sensible location. I recommend having a projects or repos folder in your Documents.

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Creating your own repository

Let’s put your python-for-ai project on GitHub.
Critical: Before pushing to GitHub, create a .gitignore file! This prevents uploading your .venv folder, which can be gigabytes in size and cause push failures.

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Step 0: Create .gitignore file

Before anything else, create a .gitignore file in your project: 
# .gitignore - tells Git what NOT to track
.venv/
.env
__pycache__/
*.pyc
.DS_Store
Save this file in your project root. Git will now ignore these files.

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Step 1: Create on GitHub

  1. Go to github.com
  2. Click the green “New” button (or + icon > “New repository”)
  3. Fill in:
    • Repository name: python-for-ai
    • Description: “Learning Python for AI development”
    • Public/Private: Choose Private for now
    • Don’t add README, .gitignore, or license
  4. Click “Create repository”

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Step 2: Connect your local project

GitHub will show you commands. Choose based on your authentication method:
When you push, GitHub will ask for your username and the personal access token (not your password!). VS Code will remember it.

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The daily workflow

Once your project is on GitHub: 
# Make changes to your code...

# Save changes
git add .
git commit -m "Add new feature"

# Upload to GitHub
git push
That’s 90% of what you’ll do with Git!

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Common tasks

  1. Press Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + P
  2. Type “Git: Clone”
  3. Paste the repository URL
  4. Choose where to save it
  5. VS Code opens the project automatically
  • Private: Only you can see it (good for learning)
  • Public: Anyone can see it (good for portfolio)
  • You can change this later in Settings
# .gitignore - tells Git what NOT to track
.venv/
.env
__pycache__/
*.pyc
.DS_Store
Add this file to keep junk out of your repo. The .venv/ folder can be several gigabytes!

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Practice exercise

Try this:
  1. Clone any Python project that interests you
  2. Create a new repo for one of your practice scripts
  3. Make a change, commit, and push

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What’s next?

VS Code makes Git even easier with visual tools. Let’s explore those.

VS Code Git

Use Git without the terminal