init, status, diff

What you will be able to do

• git init a new project directory
• Read git status for untracked files
• Use git diff after edits

Why this matters for data work

status and diff are how you review your own change before anyone else sees it — the same habit as checking a query before shipping.

Concepts

• git init — creates .git/
• Untracked — new file Git does not watch yet
• Modified — tracked file changed
• git diff — unstaged changes; git diff --staged — staged

Practice on your machine

mkdir -p ~/dcubes/git-lab/init-demo
cd ~/dcubes/git-lab/init-demo
git init
git branch -M main
git status

cat > README.md << 'EOF'
# init-demo
Practice repo for DCubes Git.
EOF
git status

You should see README.md as untracked.

echo "line two" >> README.md
# still untracked — diff may be empty until first add
git add README.md
git status
echo "line three" >> README.md
git diff

What you should see

• .git directory after init.
• status moves from untracked → staged after add.
• git diff shows the unstaged “line three” change.

Common mistakes

• git init inside home by accident — init only project folders.
• Ignoring status and committing junk.

Next

add, commit, log