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GitHub Basics: Your Profile README as a First Project

•Amanda Nelson
GitHub Basics: Your Profile README as a First Project

Plain-language GitHub for beginners: what a repository is, how commit and push work, diagrams you can skim, and a safe first project—your username README on your profile.

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GitHub is a home for folders that can travel. You edit files on your computer (or in the browser), save a snapshot with a short note, and send that snapshot to GitHub so the same folder is available from anywhere.

This post uses plain language and diagrams. You do not need the terminal. Your first project is small and public-friendly: a profile README—the text that appears at the top of your GitHub profile page.

Create a GitHub account

  1. Go to github.com and sign up.
  2. Pick a username you are happy to keep. It becomes part of your profile URL (github.com/your-username) and, in the next project, the name of a special repository.

Vocabulary (five words)

WordPlain meaning
RepositoryA project folder on GitHub, with its files and history
READMEA Markdown file GitHub shows when someone opens the repo (often the first file they read)
mainThe default branch—the copy of the project you treat as "current"
CommitA saved snapshot of your changes, with a short message describing what you did
PushSend your commits from your computer (or the website) up to GitHub

Your folder and GitHub stay in sync

Inside a repository

Teaching project: your profile README

GitHub can show a README on your profile page (not inside a code project). You get that by creating a repository with a specific name.

What makes it special

  • Repository name must be exactly the same as your username.
  • Full name looks like: your-username/your-username (for example devandapaige/devandapaige).
  • The README.md file in that repo renders on https://github.com/your-username.

Steps in the browser

  1. Sign in to GitHub.
  2. Click + (top right) → New repository.
  3. Owner: your account.
  4. Repository name: type your username exactly (GitHub may show a hint that this is a special profile repository).
  5. Public is fine for this learning project.
  6. Check Add a README file.
  7. Click Create repository.
  8. On the new repo page, click the pencil to edit README.md.
  9. Replace the default text with something true about you. Starter you can paste and edit:
# Hi, I'm Alex

I'm learning to use GitHub as a home for my notes and templates—not just for code.

- Currently: IDE workbench + plain-text rhythms
- Learning: commit and push without the terminal
- Add your site or newsletter link when ready
  1. Scroll down, write a short Commit message (for example add profile intro), and click Commit changes.

That click is your first commit: a named snapshot of the file.

  1. Open https://github.com/YOUR-USERNAME in a new tab. Your README should appear on your profile.

How commit and push work (one habit)

Every time you change files in a repo, the loop is the same:

  1. Edit a file.
  2. Commit with a plain-English summary (what changed, not jargon).
  3. Push so GitHub has the latest copy.

On the website, steps 2 and 3 are often one screen ("Commit changes"). In GitHub Desktop, you type a summary, click Commit to main, then Push origin.

Same habits with GitHub Desktop (optional)

GitHub Desktop is a free app that shows your changed files and buttons for commit and push—useful when you work in an editor like VS Code or Cursor.

  1. Install from desktop.github.com and sign in.
  2. File → Clone repository → choose your username/username profile repo (or any repo you own).
  3. Open the folder in your editor, edit README.md, save.
  4. In GitHub Desktop: review the diff → write a Summary → Commit to main → Push origin.

Fork and private repositories (short)

Fork — On someone else's public repo, Fork creates your copy on your account. Clone your fork so you can push without needing permission on the original template.

Private — Only you (and people you invite) can see the repo. Use a private repository when files hold real client material, health information, or anything you would not post publicly.

When you are ready for a practice workbench with sample files:

  1. Open github.com/devandapaige/ide-workbench-starter.
  2. Click Fork (top right).
  3. Clone your fork with GitHub Desktop, then follow From Files to Playbook.

What to do next

If you want to…Go here
Clone a sample IDE folder and use Cursor with AIFrom Files to Playbook + ide-workbench-starter
Watch the clone-and-push walkthroughPut Your IDE Workbench on GitHub
Learn the IDE layout firstYour IDE Is a Workbench

Your IDE Is a Workbench · From Files to Playbook · Starter repository