Git and Visual Studio 2019: A Guide to Committing Changes

Git is a distributed version control system that is used to track changes in software development projects. Visual Studio 2019 is one of the most widely used Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) that support Git. If you want to commit changes in Git using Visual Studio 2019, then this article is for you.

1. Installing Git for Windows

Before we start, we need to ensure that Git is installed on your system. If you haven’t installed Git yet, download and install Git for Windows from the official Git website.

2. Creating a Git Repository in Visual Studio 2019

To create a new project in Visual Studio 2019 with Git:

1. Open Visual Studio 2019 and create a new project or open an existing one.
2. Choose File > New > Project to create a new project.
3. In the New Project dialog box, select the programming language you are comfortable with, then select “Git” under the “Templates” section.
4. Choose a Location and Solution Name for your project.

Visual Studio 2019 automatically initializes the Git repository for your project, and you can start committing changes once you are ready.

3. Checking Git Status

The Git status command is used to view the changes made to the files in your project. In Visual Studio 2019, you can check the status of your Git repository by opening the “Team Explorer” window.

4. Committing Changes

To commit changes in Git using Visual Studio 2019, follow these steps:

1. Open the “Team Explorer” window in Visual Studio 2019 by selecting View > Team Explorer from the main menu.
2. In the “Team Explorer” window, click on the “Changes” tab to view the outstanding changes.
3. Review the changes made to the files, then select the “Commit All” button to commit all changes. Alternatively, you can select individual files by clicking on the checkbox next to each file.
4. Enter a commit message that describes the changes you made. The commit message should be a brief description of what you changed so that others can understand what was done. Try to be specific and avoid generic messages like “Changes” or “Updates.”
5. Once you’ve added a commit message, click the “Commit All” button to commit the changes. Your changes are now committed to the Git repository, and you can push them to a remote repository if you have one set up.

5. Pushing Changes to a Remote Repository

If you have a remote repository, you can push your changes to it using Visual Studio 2019 by:

1. Opening the “Team Explorer” window in Visual Studio 2019 by selecting View > Team Explorer from the main menu.
2. In the “Team Explorer” window, click on the “Sync” tab to view the synchronization options.
3. Click the “Push” button to push your changes to the remote repository. If you haven’t set up a remote repository yet, you can use the “Connect” button to do so.
4. Enter your Git credentials when prompted. This step ensures that the changes you are pushing are made by an authorized user.
5. Once the push is completed, check the “Changes” tab to see that your changes have been committed to the remote repository.

Conclusion

Committing changes in Git using Visual Studio 2019 is simple and straightforward, but it’s important to follow best practices when committing changes, such as writing clear and concise commit messages and pushing regularly to avoid merge conflicts. We hope this guide helped you understand the process better. Happy coding!