Git Bash: How to Get Started with Git on Windows

On closer examination, Git turns out to be a collection of command line executables, designed to be run on a Unix-style environment. This is why it feels at home, right out of the box, on Linux and macOS operating systems, because they both provide a built-in Unix-style command line terminal.

Microsoft Windows, however, does not include such a Unix-style command line and instead uses the Windows command prompt. But Git, on its own, cannot run in this environment. This is where the Git Bash comes in: it's an easy to install package that brings Git to Windows!

What is Git Bash?

Git Bash, quite simply, is an application for Microsoft Windows that emulates the "original" Git version control system as it was built for Unix-style environments.

The name indicates that "Git Bash" will provide a user with two main components:
(1) Git - The collection of command line programs that makes up the Git version control system.
(2) Bash - The name of a popular default shell on macOS and Linux.

This means that the Git Bash package not only installs Git, but also the Bash shell and some important utilities for Bash.

How to Install Git Bash

Today, installing Git Bash has become very easy:

1. Download the Git for Windows package from the project's website.
2. Install the program like any other Windows application, through the included .exe file.

While the process is fairly straightforward, if you're looking for a step-by-step explanation on how to install Git Bash, have a look at this blog post.

After installing Git Bash on a Windows computer, users have the same set of Git commands available as in Git's native environment (a Unix-style system like Linux or macOS).

How to Use Git in a Desktop GUI

Instead of installing Git Bash and using Git through a command line terminal, you can also use it through a desktop GUI. The Tower Git client, for example, is used by over 100,000 developers all over the world, in companies like Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Shopify.

Learning Version Control with Git

With Git installed (through the Git Bash package) on your Windows computer, you can now start actually using Git in your projects. To help you learn the big topic of "Version Control with Git", here are some free & helpful tutorials and guides:

• Learn Git Online Book: A beginner-friendly online book with lots of sketches & screenshots. It starts by explaining the basic concepts and then takes you through practical use cases with Git.
• Learn Git Video Course: A 24-episode, step-by-step video series. Each lesson covers just a single topic and has an average duration of only 5 minutes.

Learn More

• More frequently asked questions about Git & version control