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#1 in GitUdemyBestseller on UdemyGitPaid courseBeginner levelCertificate

The Git & Github Bootcamp (Udemy.com)

Master the essentials and the tricky bits: rebasing, squashing, stashing, reflogs, blobs, trees, & more!

Created by: Colt Steele

Last updated January 2026

Our take

Based on the ratings of 42,544 students and a sample of their written reviews, the syllabus, the course as of January 2026. No course pays to be reviewed.

Colt Steele's Git course runs about 17 hours across 190 lectures, and it was refreshed in January 2026. It starts with what version control is and how to install Git, then works up through branching, merging, diffs, stashing, and undoing mistakes before moving on to GitHub workflows. The last stretch covers rebasing, tags, reflogs, aliases, and how Git stores objects under the hood. The only listed requirement is basic computer skills, and reviewers who arrived thinking Git was too hard say they left comfortable with branches and merge conflicts. Working developers who never learned the tricky parts will find plenty in the back half too.

Students rate it 4.8 from more than 42,000 reviews, and fewer than one in a hundred give it one or two stars. The praise is consistent: the slides and worksheets make each command stick, the examples are easy to replicate on their own machine, and he takes his time explaining and throws in some humor. The complaints are mild. One reviewer felt the GUI client was bolted on rather than really taught. Another wanted cherry-picking covered, and it isn't. One asked for section summaries and more quizzes, which is fair, since the syllabus lists one quiz and no coding exercises across 190 lectures.

At 17 hours it is a lot longer than the crash courses it sits beside, so anyone who just needs push and pull by Friday should look at Git Going Fast instead. But with over 214,000 students enrolled and a Bestseller badge, this is the one to pick if the goal is understanding Git rather than memorizing five commands. Watch the essentials unit first and treat the tricky bits as a reference to come back to.

Best forAnyone who wants to understand what Git is doing, not just memorize commands, and has time for 17 hours.
Skip it ifYou need push, pull, and branch by tomorrow; a two-hour crash course covers that faster.

Pros

  • Slides and worksheets that reviewers say make each command stick
  • Covers the scary parts: rebasing, interactive rebase, reflogs, hashing and objects
  • Refreshed in January 2026, with a 4.8 rating from over 42,000 reviews
  • Lectures are easy to replicate on a home machine, with humor to keep it moving

Cons

  • Only one quiz and no coding exercises, so there is little to check what stuck
  • Cherry-picking is not covered, and the GUI client feels like an add-on
  • 17 hours is long if the goal is just daily push, pull, and branch
Everything explained and demonstrated brilliantly. This course was comprehensive and I HIGHLY recommend it to people that want to really understand how to use git and how git works.
David Copenhaver, a student

Marked beginner and it fits: the only requirement is basic computer skills, and the setup section teaches the Unix commands needed.

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What you will learn

  • Understand how Git works behind the scenes
  • Explain the difference Git objects: trees, blobs, commits, and annotated tags
  • Master the essential Git workflow: adding & committing
  • Work with Git branches
  • Perform Git merges and resolve merge conflicts
  • Use Git diff to reveal changes over time
  • Master Git stashing
  • Undo changes using git restore, git revert, and git reset
  • Work with local and remote repositories
  • Master collaboration workflows: pull requests, "fork & clone", etc.
  • Squash, clean up, and rewrite history using interactive rebase
  • Retrieve "lost" work using git reflogs
  • Write custom and powerful Git aliases
  • Mark releases and versions using Git tags
  • Host static websites using Github Pages
  • Create markdown READMEs
  • Share code and snippets using Github Gists

Course content

20 sections · 190 lectures · 17 hours of video 1 quiz, 3 articles

  1. 1Course Orientation 3 free previews6 lectures · 13 min
  2. 2Introducing...Git! 2 free previews6 lectures · 26 min
  3. 3Installation & Setup11 lectures · 1 hour
  4. 4The Very Basics Of Git: Adding & Committing 2 free previews10 lectures · 51 min
  5. 5Commits In Detail (And Related Topics)9 lectures · 51 min
  6. 6Working With Branches 1 free preview12 lectures · 1 hour
  7. 7Merging Branches, Oh Boy! 2 free previews9 lectures · 56 min
  8. 8Comparing Changes With Git Diff11 lectures · 53 min
  9. 9The Ins and Outs of Stashing8 lectures · 35 min
  10. 10Undoing Changes & Time Traveling10 lectures · 59 min

Who it is for

The instructor says it suits

  • Anyone interested in learning Git in any capacity :)
  • Anyone learning to code or hoping to enter a tech field
  • Web developers, data scientists, software engineers, mobile developers, game developers, etc.
  • Anyone who works with code or in a code-adjacent role

What you need before you start

  • Basic computer skills

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Quality Score

No CourseDuck member has rated this course yet. Taken it? Give each part a thumbs up or down.

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Course Depth & Coverage
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Overall Score : 96 / 100

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Course Description

The following sentence is annoying, but also true: the best time to learn Git was yesterday. Fortunately, the second best time is today!  Git is an essential tool for work in any code-related field, from data science to game development to machine learning.  This course covers everything you need to know to start using Git and Github in the real-world today!

The course's 20+ sections are broken down into four separate units:

  • Git Essentials

  • Next Level Git

  • Github & Collaboration

  • The Tricky Bits

We start off with Git Essentials.  The goal of this unit is to give you all the essential Git tools you need for daily use.  We start off talking about version control software, what it is, why it matters, and the history of Git.  Then we install Git and run through the Unix commands you'll need to work with Git (you can skip this if you're already familiar).  The bulk of this unit is focused on teaching the core Git mechanics like committing and branching and the associated concepts: the working directory, the repository, the staging area, etc.    We cover Git commands including: git init, git add, git commit, git status, git log, git branch, and git merge.  We end with a detailed look at branching, merging, and resolving conflicts.

Then we move on to out Next Level Git unit, where we cover additional commands and Git concepts that are extremely useful, but maybe not as "core" as the Git Essentials.  We start with a comprehensive look at the gif diff command and the various comparisons that we can make between commits, branches, the working directory, the staging area, and more!  We pay special attention to reading and parsing the dense output generated by diffs.  Then we shift our focus to stashing with the git stash command, a "convenience command" that many users love incorporating into their Git workflow.  Finally, we dive deep into undoing changes and time traveling with Git.  We learn how to revisit earlier work, detach and re-attach HEAD, and discard changes.  We cover git commands that help us undo changes including git checkout, git restore, git reset, and git revert.

Next up, we change gears to focus on Github & Collaboration.  We start by exploring Github (and similar tools) that host remote repositories and discussing the benefits they provide.  We create our own Github repositories and sync up changes between our remote and local repositories using the git push, git pull, and git fetch commands.  We then focus on commonly used collaboration workflows that students may encounter in the real world: feature branching, pull requests, forking & cloning, and more! We discuss contributing to open source projects and configuring Github repositories for collaboration. We also spend some time learning about useful Github features including Github Gists and Github Pages for free static hosting.

The last unit in the course, The Tricky Bits, is really just a collection of useful Git command and advanced topics.  We start by covering one of the "scarier" Git commands: rebasing!  We discuss the potential benefits and pitfalls of rebasing and compare it to merging.  Then we learn how to clean up our Git history by rewording, editing, dropping, and squashing commits using the interactive rebase command.  Next, we discuss Git tags (lightweight and annotated tags) semantic versioning and tagging workflows.  After that, we move on to a deep dive into the inner workings of Git.  We discuss the files and folders Git uses internally, the role of hashing functions in Git, and the role of Git objects (blobs, trees, etc.). Next, we talk about reference logs and the git reflog command.  Specifically, we learn how we can use reflogs to rescue "lost" commits and undo rebases.  Finally, we learn how to write custom and powerful Git aliases!

Throughout the course, you'll find tons and tons of diagrams and visual references I've created to try and explain Git.  The course also includes exercises I've tested on my in-person students, to give you an opportunity to practice the concepts in the course along the way.  If you are reading this sentence, I congratulate you on making it this far :) I hope you enjoy the course!

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Instructor Details

Colt Steele

Hi! I'm Colt. I'm a developer with a serious love for teaching. I've spent the last few years teaching people to program at 2 different immersive bootcamps where I've helped hundreds of people become web developers and change their lives. My graduates work at companies like Google, Salesforce, and Square.

Most recently, I led Galvanize's SF's 6 month immersive program as Lead Instructor and Curriculum Director. After graduating from my class, 94% of my students went on to receive full-time developer roles. I also worked at Udacity as a Senior Course Developer on the web development team where I got to reach thousands of students daily.

I’ve since focused my time on bringing my classroom teaching experience to an online environment. In 2016 I launched my Web Developer Bootcamp course, which has since gone on to become one of the best selling and top rated courses on Udemy. I was also voted Udemy’s Best New Instructor of 2016.

I've spent years figuring out the "formula" to teaching technical skills in a classroom environment, and I'm really excited to finally share my expertise with you. I can confidently say that my online courses are without a doubt the most comprehensive ones on the market.

Join me on this crazy adventure!

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Reviews

4.8

42,544 ratings on Udemy

Select a bar to show only those reviews.Select the bar again to show every rating.

By Nidhi Kirit Rajvir on 9/3/2026

It is a really helpful course, initially I was under an impression that git is too hard but after this course and slides I have a good understanding of this course, especially the worksheets are really helpful to understand and use the git commands

By Saraya Wilson on 8/25/2026

I’d say it’s a pretty good course overall. I’d recommend adding a lesson at the end of each section that summarizes everything we covered, along with some quizzes to reinforce what we learned. The exercises were helpful, and overall, the course taught me what I needed to know.

By Debu mandal on 8/24/2026

A massive thank you to Colt Steele for creating such an incredible course. When I first started learning Git, I felt completely overwhelmed and couldn't understand how version control actually worked under the hood. Colt has a unique gift for breaking down complex, intimidating concepts into simple, visual, and beginner-friendly steps. By the end of this course, that confusion turned into genuine confidence. I can now manage branches, handle merge conflicts, collaborate smoothly, and navigate workflows on my own without second-guessing every command. If you are completely new to Git or feel lost when using the terminal, this is the course you need—highly recommended!

By Erin Miller on 8/2/2026

I've really enjoyed this course and how encompassing it is. Not just git and git hub, but there's a bit of vs code and terminal logic basics as well. I like that you can truly start from not knowing really anything about how this stuff works. Sometimes the differences between mac and windows is a little frustrating. They were well called out in the beginning and then once over in git hub, they weren't called out anymore - specifically with setting up the SSH Config. Nothing ChattyG couldn't help me with though, so all it good.

By Hamzah Al-Qadasi on 7/28/2026

This is genuinely the best online course I have taken in my life. Before this course, I had already completed two other online courses about Git and GitHub, but I forgot most of what I learned very quickly because they did not explain the concepts with the same clarity, depth, or practical approach. This course is completely different: the instructor explains every topic in a simple, clear, detailed, and step-by-step way, so even complicated concepts become easy to understand. The course is extremely practical and includes many hands-on exercises and real examples, so you do not just memorize commands—you understand what each command does, why you need it, and what can happen in different situations. This approach has helped me understand and remember the material much better. The lessons are well organized, beginner-friendly, and never feel rushed. This course has greatly improved my understanding of Git and GitHub and has given me much more confidence when I use them. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants a detailed, practical, and easy-to-follow learning experience.

By Alan Gray on 7/26/2026

Great sequence of building the knowledge step by step. Good explanations and the content is engaging with very good diagrams that explain what is going on behind the scenes. Good exercises that test understanding at key points. Up until now I have bumbled along with a GUI using only the basics. This has given me a lot more confidence to "branch" out a bit more with Git and GitHub ;)

By Ray Burtoff on 5/26/2026

Very good stuff at the beginning, later areas of the course got bogged down a bit, especially those areas that involved multi-user workflows, but overall this was a very comprehensive course on Git and Github. Would recommend to those (like me) who have no experience with the subject, but need to use it going forward.

By Abdul Azeem on 5/18/2026

The instructor is really good at explaining things. If you have no knowledge of git and github and are not sure which course to go with, I would definitely recommend this course, as it not only teaches how to use git, but also explains in detail of what it is and when to use it and why.

By Vishvajeet Panwar on 5/17/2026

This is a very insightful course. I learned a lot of things that I didn’t know were possible using Git. Now I can confidently use Git without any hesitation. I really liked the Git course. Thanks to Colt Steele for creating such a great learning experience.

By David Garcia on 5/6/2026

Very complete Git learning experience, including enough quick but descriptive practical examples and exploring the insights of Git Database and how it internally works, which is new to many. Labs and Practices stopped at some point so maybe would be good to include some more in the lessons missing them. But, all in all, a very complete review and assessment of Git usage and workflows absolutely enabling us to start using Git more efficiently.

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