# Git From Zero - Version Control for People Who've Never Used It

Maybe you've got a folder called `project_final_v2_REALLY-final`. Maybe someone said "just push it to the
repo" and your stomach tightened because you weren't sure what any of those words meant. Maybe you've
never opened a terminal in your life. That's exactly who this guide is for.

We start from absolute zero - nothing installed, nothing assumed - and walk together until you've made
your first commit and put real code on GitHub. No memorizing spells, no pretending it's obvious. By the
end, "version control" won't be a phrase you nod along to; it'll be a thing you actually do.

## How to read this
- **Brand new and just want it working?** Read in order, type along, top to bottom. Each phase is one
  sitting.
- **Something's already gone wrong?** Jump to [Phase 4: When the First Day Goes Sideways](04-first-day-snags.md)
  and find your error message in the cheat-card.

## The phases
1. **[What Version Control Even Is](01-what-is-version-control.md)** - the why, the Git-vs-GitHub
   confusion cleared up, and getting Git installed and ready on your computer.
2. **[Your First Repository](02-your-first-repository.md)** - make a project, take your first snapshots
   with `add` and `commit`, all on your own machine. No internet required.
3. **[Putting It on GitHub](03-putting-it-on-github.md)** - what GitHub actually is, how to connect to
   it, the authentication part nobody warns you about, and your first `push`.
4. **[When the First Day Goes Sideways](04-first-day-snags.md)** - the handful of errors that ambush
   every beginner, each with a calm one-line fix.

> This guide gets your hands on the keyboard. Once the moves feel familiar, the next guide -
> [Git, Explained Like You're a Human](/guides/git-explained-like-a-human) - shows you what Git was
> *actually doing* underneath every command, so the scary words (branches, HEAD, merge conflicts) stop
> being scary.