Question

I am working with RoR, and have recently cloned a project via GitHub. I have a specific RVM gemset for this project, but nothing inside of it. I am not sure if I should create a new branch and then run bundle install, or vice versa. My concern is I do not want to work on the master branch, but I know I need to set up everything first run bundle install.

What is the right method to get started on this project, with out breaking the master?

Answer 1

GitHub is just a hosting for git repositories. Well, writing just is not giving it proper justice.

However you should learn how truly git works. I heartily recommend reading free Git Book.

In short:

1. git is distributed
2. you’re working only on local working copy
3. if you don’t tell git specifically you want a file to be tracked – it won’t (surprise, surprise!).

So running bundle install will not modify what is tracked by git and – specifically – won’t affect remote master. It won’t modify your master until you modify some files being already tracked. I think bundle install does not. And even then to modify remote master you need to commit and push changes.

You can work on your master. It’s safe.