git init

The "init" command creates a brand new Git repository.

Running the command in a directory on your computer will create a new .git subdirectory there. This is the actual, local Git repository and it contains all structure and metadata that make up a Git repository.

Note that just running git init in an existing project will not add any existing files to the new repository. git init only creates a blank repository; it is your duty to then deliberately add commits to it.

Usage Examples

Although there are a couple of options for git init, you will almost always use it with no other arguments:

$ git init

This command will create a new and empty Git repository in the current working directory. It doesn't matter if other files in this directory existed or not; the command only creates the .git repository folder.

If you would then like to put your current project files under version control, you can make your first commit:

# Add all files to the staging area (= tell Git to include them in the next commit)
$ git add .

# Wrap these changes in a commit and save them to the local Git repository
$ git commit -m "First commit"

In case you are using the Tower Git client, you can simply drag and drop your project folder - and then create your first commit with a couple of simple clicks:

Learn More

• Find the full command description in the Git documentation
• More frequently asked questions about Git & version control