Using Git for Development

Here are some instructions for setting up FSA and making contributions to the code base.

• Fork uwcms/FinalStateAnalysis so you have your own copy in GitHub
• Follow the usual installation instructions. However, when you clone the repository make sure you clone your forked version rather than the UWCMS version.
• Add UWCMS as a remote

git add remote upstream https://github.com/uwcms/FinalStateAnalysis.git

• When you are ready to begin writing code, create a topic branch in your work area

git checkout -b branch_name

• Write code and make commits
• When you are ready to share your changes, push your new branch to GitHub

git push origin branch_name

• Submit a Pull Request through GitHub to merge your new branch into uwcms/master
• The FSA admins can review your changes, offer comments and suggestions, and then merge your changes.

It is considered good practice not to make commits directly to the master branch, and to make sure your master branch is identical to uwcms/master. When you want to update your repository, you can do the following

git checkout master
git fetch upstream
git merge --ff-only upstream/master

You could use git pull upstream, but the above method helps ensure that your master branch remains identical to uwcms/master.