GitHub Setup Guide

What Is GitHub?

GitHub is a website where people store and share code projects. If Git tracks your changes locally (like a save history on your computer), GitHub is where that history lives in the cloud — backed up, shareable, and accessible from anywhere.

As you build with AI, you’ll create prompts, skills, agents, and project files that become the foundation of your workflows. GitHub is where those files live in the cloud — backed up, versioned, and accessible from any machine. Think of it as your portfolio and safety net in one place. Your files are stored in repositories (project folders that Git tracks), and you work with them by cloning — making a local copy on your computer.

This guide walks you through creating a GitHub account, creating your first repository, and cloning it to your computer.

Prerequisites

Email address for GitHub account
Cursor or VS Code installed (see Editor Setup Guide)
Git installed (see Git Installation Guide)

1. Create a GitHub Account

Go to github.com
Click Sign up
Follow the prompts to create your account
Verify your email address

Already have an account and a repository? Skip to step 3.

2. Create a Repository

From GitHub, click the + button (top-right corner) → New repository
Enter a repository name (e.g., my-ai-projects)
Add an optional description
Select Private (recommended for personal work)
Check Add a README file
Click Create repository

You’ll land on your new repository’s page with a README file. The URL in your browser (e.g., https://github.com/your-username/my-ai-projects) is what you’ll use to clone it in the next step.

3. Install GitHub CLI

The GitHub CLI (gh) is required for cloning repos from Claude Desktop’s Code tab and for letting Cursor or Claude Code authenticate with GitHub programmatically. Install it before cloning.

macOS

brew install gh

Windows

winget install --id GitHub.cli

Linux (Debian/Ubuntu)

sudo apt install gh

For other Linux distributions, see the official install instructions.

Authenticate

gh auth login

Follow the browser prompts to connect your GitHub account.

Verify

gh --version
gh auth status

gh auth status should show you are logged in to github.com as your username.

Official docs: GitHub CLI manual

4. Clone a Repository

Download (clone) a repository from GitHub using whichever tool you’re working in.

In Cursor or VS Code

Open the Command Palette (Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + P)
Type Git: Clone
Paste the repository URL (e.g., https://github.com/username/project-name.git)
Choose a local folder location
Open the cloned repository when prompted

In Claude Desktop (Code tab)

If you’re working in the Claude Desktop app without a separate code editor, you can clone a repo by asking Claude to do it for you. Because you installed and authenticated the GitHub CLI in the previous step, Claude can use gh on your behalf.

Open Claude Desktop and click the Code tab
Start a new session and pick (or create) a local folder you want the repo cloned into
In the chat box, paste a prompt like:

Clone https://github.com/username/project-name.git into this folder.
Approve the command when Claude asks for permission to run gh repo clone (or git clone)
When it finishes, open Finder (macOS) or File Explorer (Windows) and navigate to the folder you chose — you should see the cloned repo there

Verify the Clone Worked

After cloning, confirm the repository is on your machine:

Check the sidebar in your editor — you should see the project’s files and folders
Open the integrated terminal (Ctrl + `) and run:

git status

You should see a message like On branch main — this confirms the repository was cloned correctly and Git is tracking it.

Git Concepts

Understanding these terms helps when working with Claude Code.

Commit

A commit saves a snapshot of your changes with a message describing what you did. Think of it as a save point you can return to.

Push

Push uploads your local commits to GitHub. Until you push, your changes only exist on your computer.

Pull

Pull downloads the latest changes from GitHub to your local copy. Do this before starting work to stay in sync.

Staging

Before committing, you stage files to indicate which changes to include. You can commit some changes while leaving others for later.

Using Claude Code for Git Operations

Once you have Claude Code installed, you can perform Git operations by asking Claude in natural language:

“Commit my changes with a descriptive message”
“Push my commits to GitHub”
“Pull the latest changes”
“Show me what files have changed”

Claude Code handles the Git commands for you.

Troubleshooting

Can’t clone the repository?

Verify you have access to the repository
Check that the URL is correct
Make sure you’re signed into GitHub in your editor

Authentication issues?

Your editor may prompt you to sign into GitHub
Follow the browser authentication flow when prompted

Ask AI for help

If you’re stuck, paste this into ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini:

I’m trying to clone a GitHub repository in [Cursor / VS Code] on [Mac / Windows] and getting this error: [paste the error message]. I have Git installed and a GitHub account. What should I try?

## Next Steps

Try cloning a public repository to practice the workflow