Ex18 — First Repository and Commit

Make a small project you can change without losing a known working version.

Start with your task

Choose a harmless personal project, such as a checklist or a small script. Use a new folder rather than an employer or shared repository. A README can describe what it does and how to use it.

You need: A folder you own, Git installed, and a terminal or editor with Git support. No GitHub account is needed for a local repository.

Before you begin

If Git or the terminal is unfamiliar, tell your assistant your operating system and ask: “Help me check whether Git is installed. Explain how to open a terminal or use my editor’s Git controls. Give one small step at a time and wait for what I see.” Use the official Git download route if installation is needed; read the installer choices before proceeding. You can ask questions before running any command. Stop if the folder belongs to someone else or contains work you do not understand.

Build

Copy this into your assistant, replace the bracketed inputs, and provide the relevant material. Approve the approach before acting.

New to using or adapting a prompt? Ask for What You Want shows how.

Copy this prompt

Help me make my first local Git repository for [project purpose]. My operating system/editor is [details], Git availability is [known or unknown], and the folder is [new folder I own]. I want [one small useful change]. First check what exists and propose the smallest reversible approach.

Explain repository, staging, and commit in plain language as they become relevant. Ask me to approve the approach before giving action steps. Use read-only inspection before changes. Never assume a command ran: ask me to paste its output when needed. Inspect git status and the staged diff before committing.

Stage only named intended files; keep credentials, personal data, build products, and unrelated files out. If an existing repository appears, stop setup and help me inspect it before choosing what to do. Do not delete files, reset history, force push, or run broad cleanup.

At the end help me record one meaningful commit and verify its ID, contents, and status. If you cannot operate my tools, give one short step at a time and wait for my result.

Before I approve the approach, challenge it briefly: do I own a genuinely new folder, is Git available, could unintended files enter the commit, and which status/diff/commit checks will prove the intended change? Let me choose corrections before setup or file changes.

Check the result

Paste this review prompt into the same chat with the actual result and evidence. In a new chat, include your task, source material, result and observed checks. Choose the corrections before requesting a replacement artifact.

Use the evidence from your work with this review prompt.

Copy this prompt

Review the repository work against my approved purpose using the actual command outputs and diff I provide below. Was the intended change committed, and only that change? Look for accidentally included sensitive/generated files, misleading README instructions, and claims that commands succeeded without evidence. Explain a commit versus uncommitted work.

If evidence is missing, request the smallest read-only check. Propose fixes without deleting or rewriting history. Let me choose before changing anything. After a material fix, inspect the new diff and commit evidence again. Evidence: [status, staged/committed diff, commit ID and README].

Do not rewrite, supply replacement code or artifacts, or apply changes yet. Explain the supported corrections and wait for my choice. Distinguish demonstrated failures from inferred causes; do not invent test history.

Choose, revise, and use

Read the diff yourself. Explain what the commit changes and why. Keep its ID as a useful return point; a commit is local history, not an off-device backup. Use a separate branch for the next change in a repository shared with others.

For the distinction between an assistant’s claim and an actual result, see Check Your Work and Choose What Comes Next. The repository’s status and diff remain the evidence here.

Carry it forward

Next time, inspect status and diff before committing a small unrelated improvement. Can you tell a future reader why that commit exists?

This is alpha material. Report unclear instructions or errors through a public issue or email help@bigleverinstitute.org. Share only redacted or fictional material.