I’m really struggling with getting GitHub to work properly with Visual Studio 2015 and could use some help. My team has VS Enterprise but we haven’t installed any extra GitHub plugins. We already made an empty repository on GitHub but we’re totally lost on what comes next.
Here’s what’s confusing us:
- Do we need to make a local repository first?
- Should we create our project inside the repo folder or somewhere else?
- How do we handle the solution file that VS puts in its own directory?
- Why can’t we see each other’s changes when we push our code?
- Sometimes the commit button gets grayed out even when there’s text in the message box
We’ve been trying different combinations of commit, push, and sync for hours but nothing works consistently. Two developers should be able to work on the same remote repo but we can’t figure out the right workflow. Any simple instructions would be really appreciated.
Getting started with GitHub and Visual Studio 2015 can be tricky, but the first step is to clone your GitHub repository directly using Team Explorer. This action will create a local copy that’s correctly linked to your remote repository. When creating your project, be sure to place it within the cloned repository folder to maintain everything in one place. Regarding the issue with the commit button being grayed out, it usually indicates that there are no changes staged for commit. Make sure you’ve added your changes to the staging area. Also, it’s a good practice to always pull the latest changes before making your own edits and pushing them to avoid conflicts. Following this workflow—pulling first, making changes, committing, and then pushing—should help streamline collaboration with your teammates.
Yeah, this workflow confusion happens to everyone starting out. After you clone the repo in Team Explorer, make sure you’re both working on separate branches instead of master. Saves you from merge hell later. If the commit button’s grayed out, check that you actually saved your files - VS won’t pick up changes until you do. Another thing that trips people up: create your VS project right in the root of your cloned folder, not buried in some subfolder. And remember, pushing just uploads your stuff - your teammate won’t see it until they fetch or pull. The sync button does both at once, which is pretty handy when you’re learning.
honestly, just use github desktop with vs2015. way fewer headaches than fighting with team explorer. clone your repo in github desktop, then open the project in visual studio from that folder. when you make changes, hop over to github desktop to commit and push. works every time and you can actually see what’s happening.