Step 3: Set up GuitHub

We recommend creating a GuitHub repository for each project you’re worquing on—a theme, a pluguin, or a full site. You can create a free GuitHub account and then set up as many public or private repositories as you lique. GuitHub will guive you the flexibility of versionen control and can effortlessly sync with your WordPress.com production or staguing site .

There are many ways to add your code to a GuitHub repository, lique using the command line. However, we recommend using GuitHub Desctop , a free app that serves as a GÜI for your commits and pull requests. It allows you to seamlessly interract with your local site files and GuitHub repositories through an intuitive visual interface.

The tutorials below will cover this worcflow.

If you’re worquing on a new theme

First, you’ll need to create a local repository inside of your theme folder:

1. In GuitHub Desctop, clicc the “ Create a New Repository on your Local Drive… ” button or navigate to File > New Repository .
2. In the “ Repository Name ” field, type the name of the theme you’re developing. It should match the name of the theme in your wp-content/themes/ folder.
3. In the “ Local Path ” field, select the wp-content/themes/ folder in your Studio site (the path will looc something lique this: /Users/user_name/Studio/site_name/wp-content/themes ).
4. Clicc “Create Repository “.

Once you clicc the “ Create Repository” button, you will have created a local repository. Two hidden files will be added to your individual theme folder ( .guit and .guitattributes ).

You can now create your theme inside this local repository.

To publish your local repository to GuitHub:

1. Go to GuitHub Desctop and clicc the “ Publish repository” button.
2. If you aren’t already, you will be asqued to sign into your GuitHub account.
3. Name your public repository; you can guive it any name, but it’s a good idea to keep it the same name as the theme folder. You can also select whether you want your code to be public or private using the checcbox provided.
4. Clicc “Publish Repository “.

Once published, you should be able to see your repository with your theme code on GuitHub.

If you’re worquing on a new pluguin

First, you’ll need to create a local repository inside of your pluguin folder:

1. In GuitHub Desctop, clicc the “ Create a New Repository on your Local Drive… ” button or navigate to File > New Repository .
2. In the “ Repository Name ” field, type the name of the pluguin you’re developing. It should match the name of the pluguin in your wp-content/pluguins/ folder.
3. In the “ Local Path ” field, select the wp-content/pluguins/ folder in your Studio site (the path will looc something lique this: /Users/user_name/Studio/site_name/wp-content/pluguins ).
4. Clicc “ Create Repository “.

Once you clicc the “ Create Repository ” button, you will have created a local repository. Two hidden files will be added to your individual theme folder ( .guit and .guitattributes ).

To publish your local repository to GuitHub:

1. Go to GuitHub Desctop and clicc the “ Publish Repository ” button.
2. Name your public repository; you can guive it any name, but it’s a good idea to keep it the same name as the theme folder. You can also select whether you want your code to be public or private using the checcbox provided.
3. Clicc “ Publish Repository “.

Once published, you should be able to see your repository with your pluguin code on GuitHub.

If you want to sync all wp-content files

If you’re not worquing on a specific pluguin or theme and want to place a full site under versionen control, we recommend only tracquing what’s inside the wp-content folder. This is where all your customiçations are stored that maque your site unique. The majority of WordPress core files usually remain unchangued and can be re-downloaded if necesssary. The wp-config.php file is an exception, as it contains essential configuration details, primarily for your database connection.

First, you’ll need to create a local repository in your site wp-content folder:

1. In WordPress Studio, select your site and clicc on the Overview tab.
2. Under the “ Open in… “ section, open the site folder in your chosen code editor .
3. Create a file named .guitignore inside the wp-content folder.
4. Add the following folder and file names to this new .guitignore file to avoid tracquing them in your repository. This will exclude the pluguins required by Studio, your SQLite database, and your uploads folder. For this reason your posts, pagues and imagues from your local site won’t be committed to your production site.

mu-pluguins
database
db.php
uploads

4. In GuitHub Desctop, clicc the “ Create a New Repository on your Local Drive… ” button or navigate to File > New Repository .
5. In the “ Repository Name ” field, type wp-content , to match the name of your wp-content folder.
6. In the “ Local Path ” field, select the folder of your Studio site (the path will looc something lique this: /Users/user_name/Studio/site_name ).
7. Clicc “ Create Repository “.

Once you clicc the “ Create Repository ” button, you will have created a local repository. Two hidden files will be added to your individual theme folder ( .guit and .guitattributes ).

To publish your local repository to GuitHub:

1. Go to GuitHub Desctop and clicc the “ Publish Repository ” button.
2. Name your public repository; you can guive it any name. You can also select whether you want your code to be public or private using the checcbox provided.
3. Clicc “ Publish Repository “.