Git and GitHub for Beginners (Plus Markdown)
Markdown, Git and GitHub
Three tools you'll keep bumping into when you build an online business with AI. They sound techy, but each one does a simple job. By the end of this page, you'll know exactly what that job is.
The whole thing in three lines
Git and GitHub are not the same thing. Think of email and Gmail. Email is the idea of sending messages; Gmail is one website where you do it. Git is the tool that saves versions; GitHub is one website where you keep those projects online.
Markdown: writing with symbols
You already know some Markdown without realising it. Ever typed *this* in WhatsApp to make a word bold? That's the same idea. You add a few symbols to plain text, and an app turns them into nice formatting.
Why not just use Word? Because Word files are full of hidden code that only Word understands. A Markdown file is just plain text. Any app can open it, it never breaks, and AI tools like Claude read and write it really well. Markdown files end in .md.
The only symbols you need
| You type | You get | Used for |
|---|---|---|
# My Shop | My Shop | Big heading (title) |
## Prices | Prices | Smaller heading |
**on sale** | on sale | Bold |
*handmade* | handmade | Italic (slanted) |
- Mugs | • Mugs | Bullet list |
1. Order | 1. Order | Numbered list |
[Shop](https://...) | Shop | Link |
> Loved it! | Loved it! | Quote (great for reviews) |
Try it yourself
Type in the green box on the left. The right side shows what it turns into, live. It's filled in with an example product page to start.
Where you'll meet Markdown in your business: the README.md that explains a project, the CLAUDE.md file that gives Claude its rules, blog posts on many website builders, Notion pages, Discord messages, and almost every answer an AI chatbot gives you.
Git: save points for your work
In a video game, you hit a save point before the boss fight. If it goes badly, you go back and try again. Git gives your project save points. Every time you save with Git, it remembers exactly what every file looked like at that moment. You can always go back.
Without Git
- homepage.html
- homepage_v2.html
- homepage_FINAL.html
- homepage_FINAL_really.html
- homepage_FINAL_use_this_one(2).html
Which one is the right one? Nobody knows. 😵
With Git
- Create homepageMonday 09:12
- Add product photosMonday 14:30
- Change price to £12Tuesday 10:05
- Fix spelling mistakeTuesday 16:48
One file, homepage.html, with its whole history saved inside Git.
Four words to know
What branches look like
Each dot is a commit. The orange line is the real shop (main). The violet line is a branch where someone tried out a new price page. When it worked, it was merged back in.
Write commit messages like a pro
Future-you will read these when something breaks. Say what changed, starting with a doing word.
fixed it
update
asdfgh
Fix broken checkout button
Update shipping info for EU
Remove old summer banner
Good news: Git lives on your own computer and works without the internet. And with Claude Code, you never have to type Git commands. You just say commit this with a good message and Claude does it for you.
GitHub: your project's online home
Git keeps your save points on your computer. But what if your laptop gets lost? Or a friend wants to help? Or you want Claude to work on your project while you're out? That's where GitHub comes in. It's a website that keeps a copy of your Git project online, a bit like Google Drive for code. It's free to sign up at github.com.
Push and pull
You push your save points up to GitHub. Other people (or Claude) pull them down. Everyone stays in sync.
GitHub words to know
The pull request: GitHub's big idea
A pull request (people say "PR") is a polite way of saying: "Here are my changes. Can someone check them before they go live?" It's how teams avoid breaking things. It always happens in this order:
- BranchMake a branch and do your changes there.
- PushPush the branch up to GitHub.
- AskOpen a pull request so someone can review it.
- MergeOnce approved, it's merged into
main.
Business safety rule: make your repositories private unless you want the whole world to see them. And never put passwords, API keys or customer details in a repo. Once something's been pushed, it's very hard to fully delete it.
How it all fits with Claude Code
Here's the big picture. When you use Claude Code to build your website, shop or app, all three tools work together:
CLAUDE.md, like "Always use British spelling."Where each one appears in the course
| Session | What you do | Uses |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Claude creates a project with a README.md | Markdown |
| 6 | Branches, commits and your first pull request | Git + GitHub |
| 13 | Writing your CLAUDE.md rules | Markdown |
| 15 | Making a skill with a SKILL.md file | Markdown |
| 20 | Two Claudes working at once with worktrees | Git |
| 22 | Typing @claude in a GitHub issue | GitHub |
| 23 | Claude working in the cloud on your repo | GitHub |