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GitHub for Personal Use with Eclipse

This page describes one way to use GitHub for personal use (whether you are working alone or with someone else) under Eclipse. It uses a different repository for each course.

Note that individual courses that require the use of Git (e.g., CS345) may specify a different process and/or may not use GitHub.

For Each Course

For each course you must create a repository on GitHub using one machine. Then you must create the necessary directories/folders on each machine and clone the GitHub repository.

Create a GitHub Repository From One Machine

  • Open a WWW browser.
  • Login to GitHub.
  • Create a new repository for the course (e.g., with a repository name of ''cs999'').
  • Click on ".gitignore template" and select "None".
  • Click on "Create repository".
  • Click on ".gitignore" in the Quick setup area to create such a file.

  • Add the following to the file:

    Byte Code

    *.class

    Eclipse

    .settings/ bin/ tmp/ .metadata .classpath .project *.tmp *.bak *.swp *~.nib local.properties .loadpath .factorypath .checkstyle

    Log Files

    *.log

    OS X

    .DS_Store

    Package Files

    *.jar *.war *.nar *.ear *.zip *.tar.gz *.rar

    Virtual Machine Crash Logs (see http://www.java.com/en/download/help/error_hotspot.xml)

    hs_err_pid*

Then, click on [Commit new file].

At this point you should also create a Personal Access Token (see https://docs.github.com/en/authentication/keeping-your-account-and-data-secure/creating-a-personal-access-token).

Create the Necessary Directories/Folders on Each Machine

  1. Open a file explorer/finder/terminal.
  2. Create a directory/folder for the course (e.g., /home/bernstdh/cs999).
  3. Create a directory/folder for the Eclipse workspace for the course (e.g., /home/bernstdh/cs999/eclipse). Don't use the course directory/folder, create a sub directory/folder in the course directory/folder.
  4. Create a directory/folder for the Git repository for the course (e.g., /home/bernstdh/cs999/git). Again, don't use the course directory/folder (create a sub directory/folder in the course directory/folder), don't use the workspace folder, and don't put the repository folder inside of the workspace folder.

Clone the GitHub Repository on Each Machine

  1. Start Eclipse. When asked for the workspace to use, browse to the directory/folder you just created for this purpose (e.g., /home/bernstdh/cs999/eclipse).
  2. Setup the workspace as needed (e.g., add a Checkstyle checks file, add a formatter).
  3. Open the Git Perspective.
  4. Click on "Clone a Git repository". When asked for the "Repository directory" to use, browse to the directory/folder you created for this purpose (e.g., /home/bernstdh/cs999/git).
  5. Enter the GitHub URI (e.g., https://github.com/bernstdh/cs999) in the "URI:" field.
  6. Enter your GitHub user name in the "User:" field.
  7. Enter your Personal Access Token in the "Password" field.
  8. Click on "Next>".
  9. Select "main" if it isn't already.
  10. Click on "Next>".
  11. Enter the name of the the directory/folder you created for the Git repository for this course (e.g.,/home/bernstdh/cs999/git) in the "Directory:" field. (Note: Be careful if you use the [Browse] button as it will add additional subdirectories. They won't break anything but they will make the directory structure more confusing.)
  12. Make sure the "Remote name:" is origin.
  13. Click in "Finish".

For Each Eclipse Project in Each Course

For each Eclipse project in a course, you will create the project on one machine and push it to GitHub. The, you will import the project on every other machine.

Create the Project On One Machine

  1. Start Eclipse.
  2. Open the "Java Perspective".
  3. Create the new project.
  4. Add the project to source control by right-clicking on the package name, pulling down to [Team] and across to [Share project]. Note: At this point, a directory/folder with the name of the project will be added to the workspace.
  5. Click on the "Repository:" dropdown and select the Git repository for this course (e.g., /home/bernstdh/cs999/git).
  6. Click on "Finish". Note: At this point, the directory/folder for the project will be moved from the worskapce directory/folder to the Git respoitory folder/directory.
  7. Commit and push.

Import the Project On Other Machine(s)

  1. Start Eclipse.
  2. Open the Git Perspective.
  3. Expand the repository (e.g., git).
  4. Expand the "Working Tree".
  5. Right-click on the directory/folder icon for the project.
  6. Pull-down to "Import Projects...".
  7. Click on "Finish".

Last modified: 2023-04-12 11:50 by David Bernstein (59d9880)