---
title: Publish your own repository
description: Understand remotes and connect the workshop clone to a repository in your GitHub account.
---

## What a remote means

A **remote** is a saved name for another copy of a repository. Git uses that name to know where to fetch updates from or push commits to. The name `origin` is a common convention; it has no special meaning to Git. A clone begins with `origin` pointing to the shared starter repository.

Your GitHub repository will be a second remote. In this workshop, keep the starter available under the name `starter` and use `origin` for your own repository. The two remotes point to different destinations, while your local branches and commits remain in the same clone.

## Read the remote list

```sh
git remote -v
```

The command lists each remote's name and URL. The `fetch` and `push` entries show where Git reads from and writes to. Confirming the URL before a push helps avoid sending workshop commits to the wrong repository.

The activity guides you through renaming the original remote and adding your personal one. The underlying commands are:

```sh
git remote rename origin starter
git remote add origin https://github.com/<your-username>/<your-repository>.git
```

Replace the URL with the HTTPS or SSH URL GitHub displays for the empty repository you created. Do not add a README, license, or `.gitignore` on GitHub when creating it: the starter clone already has its own files and history.

## Push the starting history

```sh
git push -u origin main
```

`git push` sends local commits to a remote branch. Here, `origin` selects your GitHub repository and `main` selects the branch to publish. The `-u` option sets the upstream tracking relationship, so Git remembers which remote branch this local `main` follows. Later, a plain `git push` can use that saved destination.

Pushing is separate from committing. A commit saves a snapshot in your local repository; a push publishes commits to GitHub. If Git asks you to authenticate, use the sign-in flow configured for your computer. Never paste a password or access token into a command or the workshop app.

[Continue to checking your work and history](/docs/ta/workshops/first-byte-episode-1/inspect-history)