2.3 – Using GitHub to Save and Move Code Lesson

Lesson Overview

This lesson introduces you to GitHub, a widely used version control system designed to track, save, and share your code projects. Version control allows you to preserve every meaningful update to your files, so you can always revisit or recover earlier work. In the context of AI-powered coding for entrepreneurs, using GitHub makes it easier to work in teams, manage feedback, and maintain reliable project history.

You’ll learn not just how to save your own work, but also how to access shared code from platforms like Lovable, bring it into your local editor (such as Cursor), and keep everything synchronized. This is essential when you’re collaborating, trying out new features, or editing code on multiple devices.

Whether you’re building a habit tracker, improving a landing page, or contributing to open-source projects, version control provides a structured and safe way to grow your codebase. The lesson is especially relevant as your projects become more complex or you begin collaborating with others.

Who This Is For

Version control and code management are essential skills for anyone building projects with code, regardless of your experience level. This lesson is especially useful for:

• Entrepreneurs managing solo or small team projects
• Software developers and engineers working across devices
• Product builders collaborating with remote contributors
• Educators teaching code project structure and teamwork
• Anyone using code-based AI workflow tools and editors

Where This Fits in a Workflow

Learning to use GitHub fits early in your software project process—often as soon as your first batch of code is written and ready to save. It becomes central whenever you:

• Want a reliable backup and history of your project’s development
• Need to share work with other developers or contributors
• Move code between platforms (like from Lovable to your computer)
• Regularly update, review, or roll back code changes

For example, after building a new feature in your app, you can commit and push these changes to GitHub. Later, when a collaborator needs to review or extend your code, they can clone the repository to their own machine and stay in sync with your updates.

Technical & Workflow Benefits

Managing code only on your personal device is risky and makes teamwork difficult. By adopting GitHub, you get a time-stamped record of every change, making it easy to track progress, undo mistakes, or review what’s been added over time. Instead of manually copying files for backup or sharing code through email, GitHub centralizes everything and automates syncing.

For instance, if you want to add a new icon to your app, you make the change locally, commit it, and push it to GitHub. The entire team now instantly benefits from the update, and you preserve a clear history of what changed and why. Cross-platform projects, such as moving code from Lovable to Cursor, are also made straightforward with GitHub’s cloning feature. This saves hours otherwise spent on coordination or troubleshooting conflicting versions.

Practice Exercise

Pick a small project folder (for example, your current coding exercise or a previously built app) and try the following:

1. Connect your local editor (like Cursor) to your GitHub account and initialize a new repository based on your project folder.
2. Stage and commit all files with a message describing the initial version, then push them to your GitHub account.
3. Make a simple visible change—such as editing a headline or adding a comment—and commit and push the new version.

Afterward, compare the commit history in your GitHub repository:
- How does each commit help you understand and track changes over time?

Course Context Recap

You’re about halfway through the workflow lessons in AI Coding For Entrepreneurs. Before this lesson, you explored how to structure your project and edit code. Now, you’ve learned how to use GitHub to save code versions and move projects between platforms and collaborators. Next, you’ll learn strategies for prompting AI to create higher-quality code and solve tough challenges. Continue through the course to expand your skills and unlock the full potential of AI-powered software development.