Lesson 04 — Status, Staging, and Commits

Goal

Make a small file change and save it in Git history as a commit.

Core workflow

edit → status → add → commit → status

What these commands mean

git status

Shows what changed.

git add filename

Stages a file. Staging means: “include this in my next commit.”

git commit -m "message"

Creates a saved checkpoint in Git history.

Checklist

1. Start clean

Run:

git status

• I know whether my working tree is clean or has changes.

2. Make a small change

Edit a file, such as README.md.

Example change:

Practicing Git basics.

• I made one small file change.

3. Check status again

Run:

git status

• I can see the changed file listed.

4. Stage the changed file

Run:

git add README.md

Replace README.md with the file you changed.

• I staged the file.

5. Check status again

Run:

git status

• I can see that the change is staged.

6. Commit the change

Run:

git commit -m "docs: practice a README change"

• I created a commit.

7. Check status one more time

Run:

git status

• Git says there is nothing to commit.

Good commit messages

A good commit message is short and specific.

Examples:

docs: update README instructions
fix: correct typo in analysis notes
chore: add project folder structure

Completion check

• I can make a small change.
• I can stage a change with git add.
• I can commit a change with git commit.
• I understand that commits are local until pushed.