GitHub Basics for Product People

Glossary

Term	Analogy
Repository	A project folder in the cloud
Branch	A parallel draft of the project
Commit	A saved checkpoint with a description
Pull Request	A proposal to merge changes — like a document review
CI (pipeline)	Automated quality checks on every change
Issue	A task/bug/feature request — like a Jira ticket
Release	A published version with downloadable files

Navigating a Repository

A repo page has these key tabs:

• Code — the files in the project
• Issues — tasks, bugs, feature requests
• Pull requests — proposed changes under review
• Releases — published versions (where you download .vsix files)

Understanding Pull Requests

When you open a PR, you'll see:

1. Title & description — what changed and why
2. Files changed — a diff showing additions (green) and removals (red)
3. CI status — automated checks (green ✓ = passing, red ✗ = failing)
4. Reviewers — who needs to approve

You don't need to understand the code. Focus on: What does this change? Did CI pass? Who approved it?

Creating Issues

Issues are for tracking work. To create one:

1. Go to the Issues tab
2. Click New Issue
3. Write a clear title and description
4. Optionally add labels (bug, feature, question)

Good issue titles:

• ✅ "Add export button to merchant table"
• ✅ "Dashboard chart doesn't show weekend data"
• ❌ "Fix the thing"

Publishing Your @Solar Project

You can publish your prototype to GitHub:

1. Create a new repository on github.com
2. In VS Code, use the Source Control panel to commit your files
3. Push to GitHub

This gives you version history, backup, and a way to share code with developers.