Answering the most common GitHub beginner questions
GitHub engineers answer common beginner questions, including how to authenticate to GitHub with SSH keys or a personal access token (PAT), when to merge vs rebase, how to resolve merge conflicts, how to sync a fork, and how to review a pull request.
Overview
The video is an introductory Q&A focused on everyday GitHub and Git workflows.
Adding SSH authentication to GitHub
- Explains what SSH is in the context of GitHub authentication.
- Walks through adding an SSH key to a GitHub account.
Using a Personal Access Token (PAT)
- Explains what a PAT is and when it’s used.
- Walks through adding/using a PAT with GitHub.
Merging vs rebasing (and resolving merge conflicts)
- Clarifies the difference between merging and rebasing.
- Demonstrates how merge conflicts happen and how to fix them.
Updating (syncing) a forked repository
- Shows how to bring a fork up to date with its upstream repository.
Reviewing a pull request
- Covers the basics of reviewing a PR and what to look for during review.
Video chapters
- 00:00 Introduction
- 00:26 What is SSH and how to add it
- 02:49 What is a PAT and how to add it
- 05:14 Merging vs rebasing and fixing conflicts
- 07:38 How to update or sync a forked repo
- 09:17 How to review a pull request
- 11:47 Outro