Setting Up Your GitHub Account and Local Git Config

Create your GitHub account, configure Git with your identity, and choose the right authentication method for pushing and pulling code.

GitHub is free to use and takes about five minutes to set up. Having an account unlocks the ability to back up your code, publish your projects publicly or privately, download AI tools and examples from the community, and collaborate with other developers. Your GitHub profile also acts as a living portfolio that potential employers can browse — so it’s worth setting up properly from the start.

Step 1: Sign up

1. Go to GitHub

   Visit github.com and click Sign up.

2. Enter your details

   • Username — Pick something professional; employers will see this
   • Email — Use one you check regularly
   • Password — Make it strong
3. Verify your account

   GitHub sends you a confirmation email. Click the link inside to activate your account.

4. Set up your profile

   Click your profile picture (top right) → Your profile → Edit profile. Add your real name, a profile photo, and a short bio such as “Learning Python for AI development”.

Step 2: Configure Git locally

Tell Git who you are — this is a one-time setup that attaches your name and email to every commit you make:

git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "[e-mail]"

Use the same email address you registered with on GitHub.

Step 3: Choose your authentication method

When you push code to GitHub, you need to prove you own the account. There are three ways to do this:

Recommended: GitHub CLI gives you the simplest setup experience. It’s the modern approach and handles authentication automatically, so you won’t need to paste tokens or manage SSH keys manually.

GitHub CLI (Recommended)

Install GitHub CLI

macOS

brew install gh

You can also download directly from cli.github.com.

Authenticate

gh auth login

Follow the interactive prompts:

1. Choose GitHub.com
2. Choose SSH (recommended) or HTTPS
3. Authenticate via browser

That’s it — Git will automatically use your credentials from this point on.

HTTPS with Token

Generate a personal access token

1. Open token settings

   Go to GitHub Settings → Developer settings → Personal access tokens → Tokens (classic).

2. Generate a new token

   Click Generate new token (classic), give it a name like My Laptop, select the repo scope, set an expiration, and click Generate token.

3. Copy it immediately

   You will not see the token again after leaving the page. Save it somewhere secure.

Never share your personal access token or commit it to a repository. Treat it exactly like a password.

Use your token when pushing

git push

# GitHub will ask for:
# Username: your-github-username
# Password: paste-your-token-here  (NOT your GitHub password!)

SSH Keys

Generate an SSH key pair

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "[e-mail]"
# Press Enter for all prompts to accept the defaults

Add the key to your SSH agent

macOS/Linux

eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"
ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519

Copy your public key

macOS

pbcopy < ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

Add the key to GitHub

1. Go to GitHub Settings → SSH Keys
2. Click New SSH key
3. Give it a title (e.g., My Laptop) and paste your key
4. Click Add SSH key

Test the connection

ssh -T [e-mail]
# Expected: "Hi username! You've successfully authenticated..."

When using SSH, always clone with the SSH URL format: git clone [e-mail]:username/repo.git

What’s next?

Now that your account is configured, let’s learn how to create your first repository and clone existing projects.

Clone and create

Start using GitHub with real repositories