Add files to your branch

Use Git to add files to a branch in your local repository. This action creates a snapshot of the file for your next commit and starts version control monitoring. When you add files with Git, you:

Prepare content for version control tracking.
Create a record of file additions and modifications.
Preserve file history for future reference.
Make project files available for team collaboration.

Add files to a Git repository

To add a new file from the command line:

Open a terminal.
Change directories until you are in your project's folder.
shell
```
cd my-project
```
Choose a Git branch to work in.
- To create a branch: git checkout -b <branchname>
- To switch to an existing branch: git checkout <branchname>
Copy the file you want to add into the directory where you want to add it.
Confirm that your file is in the directory:
- Windows: dir
- All other operating systems: ls
The filename should be displayed.
Check the status of the file:
shell
```
git status
```
The filename should be in red. The file is in your file system, but Git isn't tracking it yet.
Tell Git to track the file:
shell
```
git add <filename>
```
Check the status of the file again:
shell
```
git status
```
The filename should be green. The file is staged (tracked locally) by Git, but has not been committed and pushed.

Add a file to the last commit

To add changes to a file to the last commit, instead of to a new commit, amend the existing commit:

shell

git add <filename>
git commit --amend

If you do not want to edit the commit message, append --no-edit to the commit command.

Add files to a Git repository

Add a file to the last commit

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