git clone, git push and git pull Explained Step by Step

Clone, push and pull are how you share work through GitHub. In this lesson you will clone repositories, push your commits with upstream tracking, pull your team’s changes, handle rejected pushes and use force-push safely.

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🔁 The Three Commands That Connect You to GitHub

Command	Direction	What it does
git clone	GitHub → your computer (once)	Downloads a full copy of a repository, with its history
git push	Your computer → GitHub	Uploads your new commits
git pull	GitHub → your computer	Downloads new commits and merges them into your branch

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📥 git clone: Get a Copy of a Repository

On any GitHub repository page, click the green Code button and copy the HTTPS or SSH URL:

git clone git@github.com:microsoft/playwright.git
git clone https://github.com/asha-verma-qa/git-practice.git my-practice   # into a custom folder name

Cloning into 'git-practice'...
remote: Enumerating objects: 15, done.
Receiving objects: 100% (15/15), done.

What you get:

• A new folder with all files of the default branch.
• The complete history (git log works offline).
• A remote called origin pointing to the URL (remotes).
• A local main branch that tracks origin/main.

Useful clone options

Command	Use
git clone --branch develop <url>	Check out a specific branch after cloning
git clone --depth 1 <url>	Shallow clone: only the latest snapshot (fast for CI and huge repos)
git clone --recurse-submodules <url>	Also clone submodules

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📤 git push: Send Your Commits to GitHub

First push of a branch

git push -u origin main

Enumerating objects: 6, done.
Writing objects: 100% (6/6), 512 bytes | 512.00 KiB/s, done.
To github.com:asha-verma-qa/git-practice.git
 * [new branch]      main -> main
branch 'main' set up to track 'origin/main'.

-u (--set-upstream) links your local main to origin/main. After that, a plain command is enough:

git push

When push is rejected

! [rejected]        main -> main (fetch first)
error: failed to push some refs to 'github.com:asha-verma-qa/git-practice.git'
hint: Updates were rejected because the remote contains work that you do not have locally.

Someone else pushed first. Get their commits, then push again:

git pull
git push

Force push (use with care)

After rewriting history (for example a rebase), a normal push is rejected. Prefer the safer form:

git push --force-with-lease

--force-with-lease refuses to overwrite the remote if someone else pushed commits you have not seen. Plain --force overwrites blindly.

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📥 git pull: Get Your Team’s Changes

git pull

Updating 8b1d4e2..c4d5e6f
Fast-forward
 tests/login.spec.ts | 12 ++++++++++++
 1 file changed, 12 insertions(+)

git pull is two commands in one: git fetch (download) and git merge (integrate). If you and a teammate changed the same lines, you get a merge conflict. The difference between fetch and pull has its own lesson.

git pull origin main        # pull a specific branch from a specific remote
git pull --rebase           # replay your local commits on top instead of merging

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🔄 A Daily Team Routine

git pull                          # 1. start the day up to date
# ... edit files ...
git add .
git commit -m "Add API tests for orders endpoint"   # 2. commit small changes often
git pull                          # 3. integrate teammates' work before pushing
git push                          # 4. share your work

In real teams you push to a feature branch and open a pull request instead of pushing to main directly. Branches are next in Module 4.

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🐞 Common Errors

Error	Fix
fatal: repository not found	Wrong URL or no access; check git remote -v and your GitHub permissions
Permission denied (publickey)	SSH key not set up; see SSH keys or use HTTPS
Authentication failed (HTTPS)	Passwords are not accepted; use Git Credential Manager or a personal access token
rejected (fetch first)	Run git pull, resolve any conflicts, then push
There is no tracking information for the current branch	Push once with git push -u origin <branch>

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📝 Assignment

1. Push your local git-practice repository to GitHub with git push -u origin main and refresh the GitHub page.
2. Clone the same repository into another folder (git clone <url> practice-copy).
3. In the copy, make a commit and push it. In the original folder, run git pull and check git log --oneline.
4. Make commits in both folders, push from one, and push from the other to see the “rejected” message. Fix it with git pull and push again.
5. Clone a popular open-source repository with --depth 1 and compare its size with a full clone.

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❓ FAQ

🤔 How do I push code to GitHub?

Commit your changes, then run git push. For the first push of a branch use git push -u origin <branch> to set the upstream.

🤔 What does git push -u origin main mean?

Push the local main branch to the remote origin and remember origin/main as its upstream, so later you can just run git push and git pull.

🤔 What is the difference between git clone and git pull?

git clone creates a new local copy of a repository once. git pull updates an existing local copy with new commits from the remote.

🤔 Why is my git push rejected?

The remote has commits you do not have. Run git pull, resolve conflicts if any, then push again.

🤔 What is the difference between –force and –force-with-lease?

--force overwrites the remote branch unconditionally. --force-with-lease only overwrites it if nobody else has pushed in the meantime, which is much safer.

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🎯 Next Steps

• ⚖️ git fetch vs git pull
• 🚀 Push an Existing Project to GitHub
• 📘 Git and GitHub Tutorial: full course