8 Creating a New Repository with VSCode

Learning Objectives

Open Visual Studio Code (VSCode).
Create a new folder on your computer and open it in VSCode.
Inside VSCode, go to View > Source Control or click the Source Control icon on the left sidebar.
Click Initialize Repository to turn the folder into a local Git repository.
Create or add your project files (e.g., README.md, .py, .R, or .ipynb files).

In your browser, go to GitHub.com and sign in.
Click the + icon in the upper-right and select New Repository.
Name your repository (e.g., my-new-repo).
Important: Do not initialize the repo with a README, .gitignore, or license (this prevents conflicts).
Click Create Repository.

In VSCode, open the Terminal (View > Terminal).
In the Terminal type:
- git remote add origin https://github.com/vmahan1998/GitHub_Basic_Skills_Create_Repo_Test_VSCode.git
- git branch -M main
- git push -u origin main

Remote repository not found:
Make sure you created the repository on GitHub and copied the correct URL. RStudio does not create remote repositories.
RStudio can:
- Create a local Git project on your computer
- Connect to an existing remote repository (one that already exists on GitHub)
- Push local changes to that remote
Authentication failed:
GitHub no longer accepts passwords for HTTPS. If prompted, use a personal access token (PAT) in place of your password.
Push fails due to README or file conflicts:
Make sure your GitHub repository was created without initializing it with a README, .gitignore, or license. These files can create merge conflicts when pushing from RStudio.
Missing Git in RStudio:
If Git options don’t appear when creating a new project, go to Tools > Global Options > Git/SVN and verify that RStudio detects Git. You may need to install Git from git-scm.com and restart RStudio.
Pushed changes not showing on GitHub:
Make sure you pushed to the correct remote and branch. Use Git > Push again in RStudio and check your GitHub repository online to confirm.