Configure Git Repository

Set up Git repo w/ appropriate config for project type.

Use When

• Init version control for new project
• Add

  .gitignore

  for specific language/framework
• Set up branch protection + conventions
• Configure commit hooks

In

• Required: Project dir
• Required: Project type (R pkg, Node.js, Python, general)
• Optional: Remote repo URL
• Optional: Branch strategy (trunk-based, Git Flow)
• Optional: Commit msg convention

Do

Step 1: Initialize Repo

cd /path/to/project
git init
git branch -M main

→

.git/

dir created. Default branch =

main

.

If err:

git init

fails → ensure Git installed (

git --version

). Dir already has

.git/

→ repo already init'd → skip step.

Step 2: Create .gitignore

R Package:

# R artifacts
.Rhistory
.RData
.Rproj.user/
*.Rproj

# Environment (sensitive)
.Renviron

# renv library (machine-specific)
renv/library/
renv/staging/
renv/cache/

# Build artifacts
*.tar.gz
src/*.o
src/*.so
src/*.dll

# Documentation build
docs/
inst/doc/

# IDE
.vscode/
.idea/

# OS
.DS_Store
Thumbs.db

Node.js/TypeScript:

node_modules/
dist/
build/
.next/
.env
.env.local
.env.*.local
*.log
npm-debug.log*
.DS_Store
Thumbs.db
.vscode/
.idea/
coverage/

Python:

__pycache__/
*.py[cod]
*.egg-info/
dist/
build/
.eggs/
.venv/
venv/
.env
*.log
.mypy_cache/
.pytest_cache/
htmlcov/
.coverage
.DS_Store
.idea/
.vscode/

→

.gitignore

created w/ entries for project type. Sensitive files (

.Renviron

,

.env

) + generated artifacts excluded.

If err: Unsure which entries → use

gitignore.io

or GitHub's

.gitignore

templates as starting point, customize.

Step 3: Create Initial Commit

git add .gitignore
git add .  # Review what's being added first with git status
git commit -m "Initial project setup"

→ First commit w/

.gitignore

+ initial project files.

git log

shows one commit.

If err: "Nothing to commit" → ensure files staged w/

git add

. Author identity err → set

git config user.name

+

git config user.email

.

Step 4: Connect Remote

# Add remote
git remote add origin git@github.com:username/repo.git

# Push
git push -u origin main

→ Remote

origin

config'd.

git remote -v

shows fetch + push URLs. Initial commit pushed.

If err: Push fails "Permission denied (publickey)" → configure SSH keys (see

setup-wsl-dev-environment

). Remote already exists → update w/

git remote set-url origin <url>

.

Step 5: Set Up Branch Conventions

Trunk-based (rec'd for small teams):

• main

  : prod-ready code
• Feature branches:

  feature/description

• Bug fixes:

  fix/description

# Create feature branch
git checkout -b feature/add-authentication

# After work is done, merge or create PR
git checkout main
git merge feature/add-authentication

→ Branch naming convention established + doc'd. Team knows which prefix to use for each work type.

If err: Branches already named inconsistent → rename w/

git branch -m old-name new-name

+ update any open PRs.

Step 6: Configure Commit Conventions

Conventional Commits format:

type(scope): description

feat: add user authentication
fix: correct calculation in weighted_mean
docs: update README installation section
test: add edge case tests for parser
refactor: extract helper function
chore: update dependencies

→ Commit msg convention doc'd + agreed. Future commits follow

type: description

format.

If err: Team not following → enforce w/ commit-msg hook validating format (see Step 7).

Step 7: Set Up Pre-Commit Hooks (Optional)

Create

.githooks/pre-commit

:

#!/bin/bash
# Run linter before commit

# For R packages
if [ -f "DESCRIPTION" ]; then
  Rscript -e "lintr::lint_package()" || exit 1
fi

# For Node.js
if [ -f "package.json" ]; then
  npm run lint || exit 1
fi

chmod +x .githooks/pre-commit
git config core.hooksPath .githooks

→ Pre-commit hook runs auto on each

git commit

. Lint errs block commit until fixed.

If err: Hook doesn't run → valid.

core.hooksPath

set (

git config core.hooksPath

) + hook file executable (

chmod +x

).

Step 8: Create README

# Minimal README
echo "# Project Name" > README.md
echo "" >> README.md
echo "Brief description of the project." >> README.md
git add README.md
git commit -m "Add README"

→

README.md

committed. Project has minimal but informative landing page on GitHub.

If err:

README.md

already exists → update vs. overwrite. R projects → use

usethis::use_readme_md()

for template w/ badges.

Check

• .gitignore

  excludes sensitive + generated files
• No sensitive data (tokens, passwords) in tracked files
• Remote repo connected + accessible
• Branch naming conventions doc'd
• Initial commit clean

Traps

• Commit before .gitignore: Add

  .gitignore

  first. Files already tracked unaffected by later

  .gitignore

  entries.
• Sensitive data in history: Secrets committed → remain in history even after deletion. Use

  git filter-repo

  or BFG to clean.
• Large binary files: Don't commit large binaries. Use Git LFS for files > 1MB.
• Line endings: Set

  core.autocrlf=input

  on Windows/WSL → prevent CRLF/LF issues.

→

• commit-changes

  - staging + committing workflow

• manage-git-branches

  - branch creation + conventions

• create-r-package

  - Git setup as part of R pkg creation

• setup-wsl-dev-environment

  - Git install + SSH keys

• create-github-release

  - creating releases from repo

• security-audit-codebase

  - check for committed secrets