Skip to content
CBT Nuggets
DemoBook a Demo

GitHub Tutorial for Beginners

This beginner GitHub training gives learners an understanding of GitHub and how to use it at a foundational level. Familiarity with GitHub is a prerequisite for many developer and DevOps positions, and this course prepares you to use GitHub and become a more effective developer by maximizing your efficiency and productivity.

Trevor SullivanDevOps & Cloud Engineering

Updated January 2022

Book a DemoSee plans & pricingPreview a free skillTake the placement assessment
Checking your access…
5Skills
25Videos
5hTotal

Who This Course Is For

This GitHub training is considered foundational-level training, which means it was designed for software developers with no experience at all. This GitHub course is valuable for new or aspiring IT professionals, experienced software developers looking to validate foundational skills, and non-technical professionals.

Skills Your Team Will Gain

  • Understanding how GitHub can improve your development
  • Accessing repositories and understanding how to use them
  • Getting started with cloning and updating
  • Comparing changes in files across different stages of development
  • Understanding how to use the GitHub CLI and GitHub Actions

Course Curriculum

One skill is free to watch — no signup needed. The other 4 premium skills unlock for your whole team with a CBT Nuggets plan.

Free skill preview

Introduction to Source Control with GitHub

Trevor SullivanDuration: 56m14 videos

Watch this complete skill free — the same trainer, videos, and labs your team gets with a plan.

Watch free skill
  • Introduction to Source Control with GitHubFree56m · 14 videos
  • Premium skill.Introduction to GitHub CLI Automation Tool1h 7m · 14 videos
  • Premium skill.Introduction to Automation with GitHub Actions57m · 12 videos
  • Premium skill.Use GitHub Desktop Application to Manage Code Repositories52m · 10 videos
  • Premium skill.Contributing to Open Source Projects on GitHub53m · 10 videos
Want to browse the locked skills?
with no purchase required. Already have an account?

An account gets you the full catalog to browse, pre-assessments, quiz questions on free skills, and IT Trainerbot, with every answer citing its source video.

Put this course to work for your team

Every plan includes this course plus the full library, virtual labs, and practice exams — or talk it through with sales.

See plans & pricingBook a Demo

For IT leaders

What IT leaders need to know before assigning this course

Unstandardized GitHub practices slow onboarding, create handoff friction, and make it harder for teams to collaborate on code and automation. IT Directors and Team Leads can assign this beginner course to software developers, DevOps newcomers, experienced developers who need a shared baseline, and non-technical staff who interact with repositories. The curriculum is a realistic foundational investment: about 4 hours and 45 minutes per learner across source control, GitHub CLI, GitHub Actions, GitHub Desktop, and open source contribution workflows. For change management, this course works best as a baseline before teams adopt shared repository standards or expand automation practices. CBT Nuggets Playlists can help Training Managers sequence this course into onboarding paths, while Team Reporting helps leaders track completion across roles.

Team Impact

How this training helps your team succeed

IT teams complete this training to reduce confusion around GitHub basics and create a shared operating model for repository work. The course supports practical team scenarios such as onboarding new developers, introducing automation, and helping mixed technical teams collaborate more consistently.

  • Faster developer onboarding: New team members learn foundational source control concepts and GitHub workflows before joining active repositories.
  • More consistent tooling: Teams compare browser-based GitHub use with GitHub Desktop and CLI-based workflows.
  • Early automation readiness: DevOps teams get an introduction to GitHub Actions for automating development tasks.
  • Better collaboration habits: Practitioners learn how contribution workflows work, including open source project participation.

After completion

Capabilities your team walks away with

Knowledge

  • Foundational source control concepts as they apply to GitHub repositories
  • Core GitHub platform workflows for managing code at a beginner level
  • The role of GitHub CLI as an automation tool
  • Basic GitHub Actions concepts for development automation
  • How GitHub Desktop fits into repository management
  • How open source contribution workflows operate on GitHub

Ability

  • Navigate and work with GitHub repositories at a foundational level
  • Use GitHub Desktop to manage code repositories
  • Begin using GitHub CLI for basic automation-oriented tasks
  • Recognize where GitHub Actions can support development automation
  • Participate more effectively in team-based GitHub workflows
  • Contribute to open source projects using GitHub practices covered in the course

Readiness check

Confirm prerequisite knowledge before training begins

A short placement assessment on the CBT Nuggets assessments platform measures whether a learner already has the foundation this course assumes. IT Directors use it to put the right people in the right training — and any learner can take it right now to make sure they'll get full value from day one.

  • Questions generated from this course's own video transcripts — what gets measured is exactly what gets taught
  • Instant, per-learner results that show whether the prerequisite foundation is in place
  • Results roll up into team readiness reporting, so training hours go where they change outcomes
Take the placement assessmentHow assessments work
Runs on assessments.cbtnuggets.com — sign in with an Adept account so results roll up into team readiness reporting. Need one?
.

If gaps show up, start here

GitLab Certified Git Associate

This GitLab Certified Git Associate training covers how to use GitLab at a professional level, well enough to shorten your development cycle times, increase productivity, and strengthen project security. After finishing this DevOps training, you'll b...

~17h

This course is included with every subscription

Unlock this one course, or get one learner — or your whole team — access to all 287 courses, virtual labs, and practice exams.

CBT Nuggets Individual

IT Trainerbot Pro

$49per month

Billed annually

Every course, for one learner

See Individual pricing
For IT teams

CBT Nuggets Teams

IT Trainerbot for Teams

$59per seat / mo

Billed annually

From 1 learner seat · unlimited admin seats

Checking your access…

Need tenant hosting, reseller terms, or payment plans on a larger agreement? Book a Demo to discuss an Enterprise contract.

See plans and pricing for your team

Trusted by 23,000+ organizations

Frequently Asked Questions

What will you learn in this GitHub training?

This GitHub course is about more than just the Git technology and repos, it's about cooperating, collaborating and maximizing efficiency. There are teams and companies all over the world looking for ways to increase cooperation while decreasing effort, and this GitHub training will show you how to provide it.

Who should take this GitHub course?

Although developers are the best candidates for this course, it's useful for anyone who touches any part of the software development process. In particular, managers of developers should consider taking GitHub training so that they understand better how to interface with the same technology that their teams are using.

Is this training in GitHub associated with any certifications?

No, this GitHub course isn't designed to help with any certifying exams. If you're planning to earn a GitHub certification, this is an excellent course for understanding how to use Git. But since it's not designed for any particular exam, it won't help you memorize facts about GitHub.

What certification should you consider after taking this course in GitHub?

Unfortunately, if you're looking for a certification that specifically covers GitHub and using it, there are no certifications with long or reputable track records. Nevertheless, knowing how to use GitHub efficiently will make you a better programmer and developer since pretty much every digital team relies on it.

Why should you take this GitHub training?

You should take this GitHub training because knowing what repositories are, how they're used in collaboration and development, and how to manage them is fundamental knowledge today. There's just no way around being a master of commits and staging in today's environment, and with this training you can be one.

Ready to upskill your team?

Talk to our sales team to find the right plan for your organization.

Book a Demo