Room 01 - Install & Verify Git

INSTALL & VERIFY GIT

Room 01 - Installing Git

Git is a distributed version control system created by Linus Torvalds in 2005.
Before you can use Git, you need to make sure it’s installed and working.

📜 Your mission

Your first mission: Confirm Git is installed and discover its secrets.

Run: git --version Verify that git is installed
Run: which git This shows you where git in called from.
Find the password:
- Look inside the “room01” git repository in this room.
- The password is hidden in the commit history.
- Hint: use git log to reveal it.

Decrypt the next room: next <PASSWORD>

Key Commands

Command	Purpose
`git --version`	Show installed Git version
`which git`	Show path to git binary
`git --exec-path`	Show Git’s libexec directory
`git help`	List common Git commands
`git help -a`	List ALL available Git commands
`git help <command>`	Show help for specific command
`man git`	Manual page for Git

Installing Git on Different Systems

# macOS (Homebrew)
brew install git

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install git

# Fedora/RHEL
sudo dnf install git

# Arch
sudo pacman -S git

# Alpine (this container)
apk add git

# Windows
# Download from https://git-scm.com/downloads
# Or use: winget install Git.Git

# Verify installation
git --version

How Git Differs From Other VCS

flowchart TB
    subgraph Centralized["Centralized VCS - SVN"]
        S["🖥️ Server"] --> D1["Dev1\n(working copy)"]
        S --> D2["Dev2\n(working copy)"]
        S --> D3["Dev3\n(working copy)"]
    end
    subgraph Distributed["Distributed VCS - Git"]
        R["🌐 Remote A"] <--> G1["Dev1\n(full repo)"]
        R <--> G2["Dev2\n(full repo)"]
        R <--> G3["Dev3\n(full repo)"]
        G1 <--> G2
        G2 <--> G3
    end

Tasks

01. Verify Git Is Installed

The very first thing to check on any machine - is Git actually available?

Hint: git --version

Solution

git --version
# Expected output: git version 2.x.x
# If you see "command not found", Git is not installed.

02. Locate the Git Binary

Find where the git executable lives on this system.

Hint: which git, type git

Solution

which git
# /usr/bin/git  (typical Linux/Alpine)

# Alternative:
type git
# git is /usr/bin/git

03. Explore Git’s Built-in Help

Git ships with built-in documentation. List the most common Git commands.

Hint: git help, git help -a

Solution

# Show the most common commands grouped by category
git help

# List ALL installed Git sub-commands (there are many!)
git help -a

# Get help for a specific command
git help init
git help config

04. Find the Git Libexec Directory

Git stores helper programs in a special libexec directory. Find its path.

Hint: git --exec-path

Solution

git --exec-path
# Example: /usr/libexec/git-core

# List what's inside
ls $(git --exec-path) | head -20
# You'll see git-add, git-commit, git-log, etc.

05. Explore the room01 Repo

This room contains a room01 git repository. Enter it and look around.

Hint: cd room01, ls -la, git status

Solution

cd room01
ls -la
# You should see files and a .git/ directory

git status
# Shows the current state of the working directory

06. Read the Commit History

The password is hidden in the commit messages of the room01 repo. Use the log to find it.

Hint: git log, git log --oneline

Solution

cd room01
git log
# Read through the commit messages - one of them contains the password

# Compact view:
git log --oneline
# Each line shows: <short-hash> <commit-message>

07. Show a Specific Commit’s Details

Once you spot an interesting commit, inspect its full details.

Hint: git show <hash>

Solution

# Show the latest commit
git show HEAD

# Show a specific commit by hash
git show abc1234

# This displays the commit metadata AND the diff

🔓 Unlock Room 02

Once you have the password:

next <PASSWORD>