How to Install Git on Linux Mint 20.3

[James19932022]

im having trouble trying to install Git on Linux Mint cinnamon 20.3. i've followed all the instructions, but still no luck, any tips would be grateful

[Hoser Rob]

What instructions? You should already have it, it's a totallly standard UBuntu app that's currently supported and has been for years. If you think you need a newer version than the one you have you're almost certainly mistaken.

[James19932022]

even though im using linux mint cinnamon 20.3?
these are the instructions im using:

https://linuxhint.com/install-git-linux-mint/

[Coggy]

Those instructions look OK to me. How far do you get, and what error messages do you get? Copy and paste the command you type and the response is the best way to tell us, so we can see exactly what is happening.

[James19932022]

i got as far as typing in my name & email address but it said there was an error even though i followed the instruction exactly

[pdc_2]

i got as far as typing in my name & email address

..... so we are to assume you have successfully installed git and are now https://linuxhint.com/install-git-linux-mint/

"to set a global commit name"??

If you open synaptic, which version of git does it show that you have installed please?

[djph]

i got as far as typing in my name & email address but it said there was an error even though i followed the instruction exactly

I take it you took the website's version of the command -- git config --global user.name <yourname> as a literal, and kept the angle brackets, huh? Get rid of the angle brackets, they're not part of the command. They're a formatting custom/standard from the days of plaintext-only documentation to indicate to the reader that it is REQUIRED (albeit variable) input.

The below take that replacement into account. Just correct the name / email address as appropriate.

git config --global user.name "James 19932022"
git config --global user.email "james19932022@emailprovider.com"

[James19932022]

Many thanks! it worked, thank you

[James19932022]

how would i be able to download and install github?

thanks

[djph]

how would i be able to download and install github?

thanks

You don't.

If you want to run your own git server with a web frontend similar to that provided by github, you'd use something like gitlab or gitea (there are other options as well). If you have no other webhosting experience, a year or two's general experience in Linux should be sufficient to allow you to install / run these services PRIVATELY without too much trouble (maybe a weekend or two at most to work through installation / setup basics / etc). Running it PUBLICLY is another matter entirely, and in additon to general linux knowledge, I'd recommend at least a few months of general "safely hosting stuff on the internet" knowledge / reading before doing this.

NOTE -- in the above comments, "PUBLICLY" merely means that "https://git.yoursite.com" would be assessible on the internet, NOT that it would necessarily be openly available for anyone to use. Likewise, "PRIVATELY" means that the site is only accessible while on your LAN (i.e. physically in the "office", or connected to a VPN).

If running a server at all seems daunting, then you can just use the free tier from one of the already hosted services ( github/ gitlab / etc. ). They work just fine, provided the free tier meets your needs (otherwise, thei paid tiers are usually pretty reasonably priced).


... on the other hand, if you're asking how to clone a repository hosted at github -- assuming you've already setup your github account for SSH access -- git clone git@github.com:account/repository-name ; otherwise git clone https://github.com/account/repository should suffice. (NOTE - HTTPS clone command from memory, double check github documentation )

[James19932022]

ok thanks