GitHub Learning Plan - 3 Weeks

Context

Your Background: - Familiar with Git basics - Used GitLab at Company - Need GitHub for Platform community work - Open source contribution workflow

Goal: - Master GitHub for open source work - Understand GitHub Actions (CI/CD) - Learn community contribution workflow - Contribute to Platform projects

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3-WEEK PLAN

Week 1: GitHub Fundamentals + PR Workflow

Focus: GitHub basics + Pull Request workflow

Topics: - GitHub vs GitLab (key differences) - Repositories, Organizations, Teams - Pull Request workflow - Fork & clone workflow - Code review on GitHub - Issues & Projects

Go to Week 1 →

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Week 2: GitHub Actions (CI/CD)

Focus: GitHub Actions, workflows, automation

Topics: - GitHub Actions syntax - Workflows, jobs, steps - GitHub-hosted vs self-hosted runners - Secrets, environment variables - Marketplace actions - Matrix builds - Artifact storage

Go to Week 2 →

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Week 3: Open Source + Advanced GitHub

Focus: Contributing to Platform, advanced features

Topics: - Open source contribution workflow - GitHub Apps vs Actions - GitHub API (REST & GraphQL) - Security features (Dependabot, Code scanning) - GitHub Packages (container registry) - GitHub Pages & Wikis

Go to Week 3 →

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Learning Approach

This is a REFERENCE guide!

• Use on-the-job: Learn while contributing to Platform
• Hands-on first: Fork repos, create PRs
• Just-in-time: Read when you need it

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Quick Start

Immediate Actions (Day 1):

1. Create GitHub account (if you don't have):
2. Sign up: https://github.com/signup

3. Enable 2FA!

4. Configure SSH keys:

   # Generate SSH key
   ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "your.email@company.com"
   
   # Add to ssh-agent
   eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"
   ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
   
   # Copy public key
   cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub
   # Add to GitHub: Settings → SSH Keys
   

5. Configure Git:

   git config --global user.name "Your Name"
   git config --global user.email "your.email@company.com"
   

6. Fork a Platform repo:

   # Browser: https://github.com/platform-ci/architecture → Fork
   
   # Clone your fork
   git clone git@github.com:YOUR_USERNAME/architecture.git
   cd architecture
   
   # Add upstream remote
   git remote add upstream https://github.com/platform-ci/architecture.git
   

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Key Skills to Master

Week 1:

• Create Pull Requests
• Review code with comments
• Use GitHub Issues
• Understand fork workflow
• Sync fork with upstream

Week 2:

• Write GitHub Actions workflows
• Trigger workflows manually
• Use marketplace actions
• Debug failed workflows
• Cache dependencies

Week 3:

• Contribute to Platform repos
• Call GitHub API
• Enable security scanning
• Publish packages
• Use GitHub CLI (gh)

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GitHub vs GitLab (Quick Comparison)

Feature	GitLab	GitHub
MR/PR	Merge Request	Pull Request
CI/CD	.gitlab-ci.yml	.github/workflows/*.yml
Runners	GitLab Runners	GitHub Actions runners
API	REST only	REST + GraphQL
Groups	Groups & Subgroups	Organizations
Container Registry	Built-in	GitHub Packages
Issues	Issues + Epics	Issues + Projects
Webhooks	Project/Group webhooks	Repo webhooks + GitHub Apps

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Resources

Official Docs:

• GitHub Docs: https://docs.github.com/
• GitHub Actions: https://docs.github.com/en/actions
• API Reference: https://docs.github.com/en/rest
• GitHub CLI: https://cli.github.com/

Platform Repos:

• Architecture: https://github.com/platform-ci/architecture
• Docs: https://github.com/platform-ci/docs
• Build Service: https://github.com/platform-ci/build-service

Community:

• Platform Slack: #platform-users
• GitHub Community: https://github.community/

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Tips for Platform Contributors

1. Read CONTRIBUTING.md first:
2. Every Platform repo has one

3. Follow the guidelines!

4. Use GitHub CLI:

   # Install gh
   brew install gh # macOS
   # or
   sudo dnf install gh # Fedora/RHEL
   
   # Authenticate
   gh auth login
   
   # Create PR from CLI
   gh pr create --title "Fix: bug description" --body "Details..."
   

5. Sign your commits:

   # GPG setup (for verified commits)
   git config --global commit.gpgsign true
   

6. Watch repos:

7. Watch Platform repos you care about

8. Get notified of issues, PRs, releases

9. Use Draft PRs:

10. Mark PR as draft when WIP
11. Convert to ready when done

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Learning Path for Platform Contributions

Week 1: Understand GitHub basics
↓
Week 2: Master GitHub Actions (Platform uses it!)
↓
Week 3: Start contributing!
↓
First contribution:
1. Pick a "good first issue"
2. Fork repo
3. Create branch
4. Make changes
5. Create PR
6. Respond to review feedback
7. Get merged! 

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GitHub Features You'll Love

1. GitHub CLI (gh):
2. Manage everything from terminal
3. Fast PR creation

4. View issues, PRs without browser

5. Code Spaces:

6. Cloud dev environment

7. One-click setup

8. GitHub Actions Marketplace:

9. 13,000+ ready-to-use actions

10. Build, test, deploy anything

11. Advanced Search:

12. Search across all repos

13. Powerful filters

14. Notifications:

15. Customizable per-repo
16. Never miss important updates

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Ready to start? → Week 1: GitHub Fundamentals →