Git & GitHub – 100+ Lab Exercises (Basic, Intermediate, Advanced)

🔰 Basic Level (30+ Exercises)

Goal: Establish foundational skills in version control, Git commands, and basic GitHub usage.

Core Git Concepts & Commands

• Initialize a Git repository (git init).

• Clone a remote repository (git clone).

• Understand Git staging area (git add).

• Commit changes with descriptive messages (git commit).

• Check repository status (git status).

• View commit history (git log).

• Understand the difference between working directory, staging area, and repository.

• Create and switch branches (git branch, git checkout).

• Track new files and ignore files using .gitignore.

GitHub Essentials

• Create a GitHub account and repository.

• Push local commits to GitHub (git push).

• Pull remote changes (git pull).

• Fork a repository and clone the fork.

• Open and manage issues on GitHub.

• Make simple pull requests (PRs) and understand the workflow.

• Use GitHub Pages for basic static site hosting.

• Understand the importance of README.md and write basic documentation.

Practice Exercises

• Initialize a Git repository and make initial commits for a sample project.

• Clone an open-source GitHub repo and explore its history.

• Practice branching and merging on a test repo.

• Simulate and resolve merge conflicts manually.

• Push code updates and create a pull request on a forked repo.

🚀 Intermediate Level (40+ Exercises)

Goal: Enhance proficiency with Git workflows, collaboration, and intermediate GitHub features.

Git Branching & Merging

• Work with remote branches (git fetch, git remote).

• Create feature branches and merge using fast-forward and no-fast-forward.

• Rebase feature branches (git rebase) and resolve conflicts.

• Use git stash to temporarily save work.

• Cherry-pick commits from one branch to another.

• Undo commits safely (git revert, git reset).

Collaboration & Workflow

• Fork, clone, and sync upstream repositories.

• Manage pull requests with review comments.

• Use GitHub Actions for simple CI/CD pipelines.

• Utilize protected branches and branch policies.

• Use GitHub Projects and Issues for agile task management.

• Manage releases and tags (git tag).

• Collaborate using GitHub Discussions and Wikis.

• Automate workflows with GitHub templates and bots.

Practice Exercises

• Implement Git Flow branching model on a team project.

• Set up a simple CI workflow using GitHub Actions.

• Perform an interactive rebase to clean commit history.

• Collaborate on a repository using forks, branches, and pull requests.

• Tag and create a release on GitHub with changelog updates.

🧠 Advanced Level (40+ Exercises)

Goal: Master advanced Git/GitHub techniques, automation, and enterprise-grade workflows.

Advanced Git Techniques

• Deep dive into Git internals: objects, refs, and reflog.

• Use git bisect to find faulty commits.

• Implement submodules and manage nested repositories.

• Perform large repository optimization (git gc, git prune).

• Use Git hooks for automation (pre-commit, post-commit).

• Advanced conflict resolution strategies in complex merges.

• Manage sparse checkouts and partial clones.

Enterprise & Automation

• Configure branch protection rules and mandatory PR reviews.

• Manage organizational repositories and teams on GitHub Enterprise.

• Automate workflows using advanced GitHub Actions (testing, deployment).

• Implement semantic versioning with automated tagging.

• Integrate GitHub with third-party tools (Slack, Jira, Jenkins).

• Manage secrets and environment variables securely in GitHub Actions.

• Perform disaster recovery using reflog and stash.

Practice Exercises

• Automate a multi-stage CI/CD pipeline using GitHub Actions.

• Simulate and recover from complex merge conflicts in a large repo.

• Set up and use Git submodules for shared libraries.

• Use git bisect to track down a regression bug.

• Configure and enforce branch policies and PR reviews for a team.

Capstone Projects

• Create and maintain an open-source project on GitHub with continuous integration.

• Implement a full Git branching strategy for a multi-developer software project.

• Build a GitHub Action workflow for automated testing and deployment.

• Lead a collaborative feature development using forks, branches, and pull requests.

• Document and automate release management processes using tags and releases.

✅ Tools & Platforms

• Git CLI and GUI clients (GitKraken, SourceTree)

• GitHub web interface & GitHub Desktop

• GitHub Actions for CI/CD

• Integration tools: Slack, Jira, Jenkins, Docker