🚩 Checkpoint 2: Push It Live

Your my-data-portfolio repo lives only on your laptop. Now you put it on GitHub — and for the first time, see your own work rendered online. This is the moment Git stops being abstract.

Before you start

You need a finished Checkpoint 1 (a local repo with commits) and a working SSH connection to GitHub. Test it with ssh -T git@github.com — you should see Hi <username>!. If not, revisit Setup.

Step 1 — Create the repo on GitHub

1. Go to github.com → click + (top-right) → New repository.
2. Repository name: my-data-portfolio (match your local folder exactly).
3. Leave it Public so it shows on your profile.
4. Do NOT check "Add a README file", and do not add a .gitignore or license. You already have files locally, and adding them here causes a conflict on your first push.
5. Click Create repository.

GitHub shows a setup page. Copy the SSH URL (it starts with git@github.com:).

Step 2 — Connect your local repo to GitHub

From inside your my-data-portfolio folder:

git remote add origin git@github.com:<username>/my-data-portfolio.git

Replace <username> with your GitHub username. Confirm it worked:

git remote -v

You should see two lines pointing at your repo (fetch and push).

Step 3 — Push

git push -u origin main

The -u links your local main to GitHub so future pushes are just git push.

What you should see

Refresh your repo page on GitHub. Your README.md is now rendered as a formatted page, with your "Contents" list showing as bullets. That is your work, live on the internet.

If something goes wrong

This is the checkpoint where real errors show up. That is normal — here is how to read them:

Error message	Cause	Fix
Permission denied (publickey)	GitHub does not recognize your SSH key	Re-do the SSH steps in Setup, then ssh -T git@github.com
remote origin already exists	You ran git remote add origin twice	Run git remote set-url origin <url> instead, or git remote remove origin then re-add
Updates were rejected... fetch first	You created the GitHub repo with a README	Run git pull --rebase origin main, then git push again
src refspec main does not match any	No commits yet, or your branch is master	Run git log (need at least one commit) and git branch (rename with git branch -M main)

Read the whole error

Git errors are wordy but usually tell you the fix in the last line. Slow down and read it before retrying — this is a skill in itself.

✅ Checkpoint complete

• my-data-portfolio exists on GitHub
• git remote -v points at your GitHub repo
• Your README is visible and formatted on the GitHub repo page

From now on, every commit you make can be pushed to GitHub with a single git push. Next, you will add real content using a branch and a pull request.