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git init

Creating a new Git repository with git init and what happens behind the scenes.

What you'll learn

  • How to initialize a new Git repository
  • What git init creates in the .git folder
  • How to reinitialize or check an existing repo
  • The default branch name and how to change it

Concept

What git init Does

git init turns an ordinary directory into a Git repository. It creates the hidden .git subdirectory and populates it with the structures Git needs to start tracking changes.

mkdir my-project
cd my-project
git init

After running this, the directory is a Git repository — but it is empty. No files are being tracked yet. The next steps are usually to create a file, git add it, and git commit.

Behind the Scenes

When you run git init, Git creates:

  • objects/ — where file contents and commits are stored as compressed objects
  • refs/heads/ — where branch pointers live (initially empty)
  • refs/tags/ — where tag pointers live
  • HEAD — a file that points to the current branch (initially refs/heads/main or refs/heads/master)
  • config — repository-specific configuration
  • description — a placeholder file (rarely used)

Nothing is committed yet — the repository has zero commits and no branches until you make your first commit.

The Default Branch Name

Historically, Git's default branch was called master. Since 2020, the community has moved toward using main as the default, and Git itself changed its default in version 2.28.

You can set the default branch name globally:

git config --global init.defaultBranch main

If your repository was created with master and you want to rename it:

git branch -m main

Reinitializing

Running git init in an existing repository is safe — it does not overwrite anything, just makes sure the .git structure is complete. You might do this after manually copying a .git folder or if something got corrupted.

Cloning Instead of Initializing

If you want to work on an existing repository (for example, an open-source project on GitHub), use git clone instead of git init:

git clone https://github.com/user/repo.git

This downloads the entire repository, including all history, and sets up the remote connection automatically.

Example

              # Start a brand new project
mkdir weather-app
cd weather-app

# Initialize Git — this creates the .git folder
git init
# Output: "Initialized empty Git repository in .../weather-app/.git/"

# Set the default branch name (do this once globally for all new repos)
git config --global init.defaultBranch main

# Create an initial file
echo "# Weather App" > README.md

# Stage and commit the first file
git add README.md
git commit -m "Initial commit: add README"

# See the result — you now have a repository with one commit
git log --oneline
git status

# If you initialized with the wrong branch name, rename it
git branch -m main

The complete first-run workflow: create a directory, initialize Git, set the default branch, make the first commit, and verify the result. This is how every new Git project begins.

Try it

Common mistakes

The mistake

Running git init inside an already-initialized repository

The fix

git init is safe to run again, but it is usually a sign you are in the wrong directory. Check for an existing .git folder first with ls -a. If you see .git, the repo is already initialized.

The mistake

Initializing Git in your home directory or root folder

The fix

Always cd into your specific project directory before running git init. Initializing in your home directory would track every file on your computer, which is catastrophic.

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