Repository Step 2: Clean the Slate

On your own machine, write a .gitignore for your real project before you commit anything. Include your dependency directory, any build output, operating system junk, and any file holding credentials. Then run git status and confirm the untracked list contains only files you genuinely want to share. Make your first commit, then make a second one that changes only one thing, and write both messages in the imperative. Finally, run git log and read your own two sentence history. That is what you are going to keep adding to.