Git Team Exercise: Safe Collaboration

Git Exercise: Safe Collaboration with Multiple Students

This exercise walks through a safe Git workflow for a team of 4 students. Each student contributes a different type of file:

  • Student 1: Data file (data/raw/data.csv)
  • Student 2: Data cleaning script (src/data/clean_data.R)
  • Student 3: Plot script (src/figs/make_plot.R)
  • Student 4: Quarto webpage (pages/report.qmd) referencing a saved PNG figure (figs/plot.png)

The focus is on fetching before merging to avoid conflicts and working safely without overwriting.

Step 1: Clone the Repository

Each student first clones the repository:

git clone https://github.com/example-org/class-project.git
cd class-project

Step 2: Create or Switch to a Branch

Each student works on their own branch to avoid overwriting files.

git checkout -b student1-data      # Student 1
# or
git checkout -b student2-cleaning   # Student 2
# or
git checkout -b student3-plot       # Student 3
# or
git checkout -b student4-report     # Student 4

Step 3: Add Work in the Correct Folder

Student 1: Data file

# Save your file as data/raw/data.csv
git add data/raw/data.csv
git commit -m "Add raw data file"

Student 2: Data cleaning script

# Save your script as src/data/clean_data.R
git add src/data/clean_data.R
git commit -m "Add data cleaning script"

Student 3: Plot script

# Save your script as src/figs/make_plot.R
# Make sure it saves a PNG figure in figs/plot.png
git add src/figs/make_plot.R figs/plot.png
git commit -m "Add plot script and saved PNG"

Student 4: Quarto webpage

# Save your report in pages/report.qmd
# Make sure it references figs/plot.png in the text
git add pages/report.qmd
git commit -m "Add report referencing plot"

Step 4: Sync Safely with Remote Repository

Before pushing changes, always fetch first to see if others have updated the repo:

git fetch origin

  • If there are no new changes on the remote branch, you can push safely:

    git push origin student1-data

  • If there are new changes, merge them into your branch before pushing:

    git merge origin/main

⚠️ Warning: If you use git pull directly, it automatically merges remote changes into your branch. This may create conflicts you aren’t ready to handle. Using git fetch first is safer, because you see what’s new before merging.

Step 5: Merging into Main (Instructor or Team Lead)

The instructor (or team lead) will merge student branches into main one at a time:

git checkout main
git fetch origin
git merge origin/student1-data

Repeat for student2-cleaning, student3-plot, student4-report.

Summary of Safe Practices

  • Work in separate branches.
  • Place files in designated folders.
  • Use git fetch before merging (safer than pull).
  • Only instructor merges to main.
  • Avoid working directly on main branch.

Next Steps

After merging, open the webpage:

quarto render pages/report.qmd

This will include the cleaned data, generated figure, and student contributions combined.