Configure Git

Configure user.name and user.email

library(usethis)
usethis::use_git_config(
  user.name = "github_name", # Make sure this matches your GitHub account
  user.email = "jane@example.com" # Use the email associated with GitHub account
)

Check Git configuration

Ask for a situation report.

usethis::git_sitrep()

A lot of information will appear in the RStudio Console!

Git config (global)
• Name: <unset>
• Email: <unset>
• Global (user-level) gitignore file: <unset>
• Vaccinated: FALSE
ℹ See `?git_vaccinate` to learn more
ℹ Defaulting to 'https' Git protocol
• Default Git protocol: 'https'
• Default initial branch name: <unset>
GitHub
• Default GitHub host: 'https://github.com'
• Personal access token for 'https://github.com': <unset>
• To create a personal access token, call `create_github_token()`
• To store a token for current and future use, call `gitcreds::gitcreds_set()`
ℹ Read more in the 'Managing Git(Hub) Credentials' article:
  https://usethis.r-lib.org/articles/articles/git-credentials.html
Git repo for current project
• Active usethis project: '/cloud/project'
ℹ Active project is not a Git repo

Vaccinate

usethis::git_vaccinate()

Personal access token

• Communicating with GitHub will require authentication

• Instead of typing in your username and password each time, use a PAT (personal access token)

Create a PAT

• To amend/delete existing tokens go to: https://github.com/settings/tokens
• Give the token a descriptive name like connect-posit-github
• Copy and also store this token somewhere (you won’t be able to see it again!)

usethis::create_github_token()

Store your PAT

When you use the following code you’ll get a prompt, copy the token with no quotes.

gitcreds::gitcreds_set()

Starting Git from an existing project

To make our project a Git repository, or ‘repo’ on our local machine we use

usethis::use_git()

✔ Initialising Git repo
Error: Path 'C:/Users/zoe.turner/OneDrive - Midlands and Lancashire CSU/Documents/' does not appear to be inside a project or package.
Read more in the help for `proj_get()`.

Verbose feedback

√ Initialising Git repo
√ Adding '.Rdata', '.httr-oauth', '.DS_Store' to '.gitignore'
There are 2 uncommitted files:
• '.gitignore'
• 'git_project.Rproj'
Is it ok to commit them?

1: Yeah
2: Absolutely not
3: No

Initial commit

√ Adding files
√ Commit with message 'Initial commit'
• A restart of RStudio is required to activate the Git pane
Restart now?

1: Nope
2: Definitely
3: No

• Choose the positive option (which changes!)
• The save workspace option to .Rdata can be either no for this, more info at intro-r course
• A new file for .gitignore will appear in the Files pane

Connect this to GitHub

To create a copy on GitHub

usethis::use_github()

This will open up the GitHub page in your default browser

Message about ssh and https

If you get this:

✔ Checking that current branch is 'main'
Which git protocol to use? (enter 0 to exit) 
1: ssh   <-- presumes that you have set up ssh keys
2: https <-- choose this if you don't have ssh keys (or don't know if you do)

Choose 2 at the moment.

GitHub connected message in RStudio

ℹ Defaulting to 'https' Git protocol
✔ Setting active project to '/cloud/project'
✔ Creating GitHub repository 'Lextuga007/project'
✔ Setting remote 'origin' to 'https://github.com/Lextuga007/project.git'
✔ Pushing 'master' branch to GitHub and setting 'origin/master' as upstream branch
✔ Opening URL 'https://github.com/Lextuga007/project'

master or main?

The branch is called master here as default but conventionally people have moved to main To rename this branch:

usethis::git_default_branch_rename(from = "master", to = "main")

Changing the branch name locally

Repeat the code and a different message appears

✖ It's weird that the current default branch for your local repo and the source repo are different:
  'master' (local) != 'main' (source)
Are you sure you want to proceed?

1: yes
2: no

This is our first insight into how Git sees local and remote as two separate things!

Set future default branches to main

This won’t affect other projects in the cloud but is useful on a computer

usethis::git_default_branch_configure()

Updating historic repositories

If you want to update a lot of old repository default branches from master to main this can be done using a Shiny app built by Garrick Aden-Buie, Software Engineer for Shiny at Posit.

End session