How to Download View Code from GitHub

If you are looking for a free and open-source code hosting service, then GitHub is the perfect platform for you. The service has been around since 2008 and hosts 200 million repositories of code that belong to over 60 million users in 200 countries! But what if you want to download those files or view the code? There are many methods to download and view a GitHub’s repository.

Direct Download

This is the easiest method as you don’t need to install anything else except a ZIP un-compressor.

We’ll show you how easy it can be with these simple steps:

Step 1: Navigate to the repository on GitHub.com

Step 2: Click “Code” at the top of the project’s main content (you may have to scroll down)

Step 3: Select “HTTPS” tab from the dropdown menu next to “Download ZIP”

Step 4: Extract the downloaded Zip file:

  • In your Explorer, navigate to the folder where you want the files extracted.
  • Double click on a zip extractor and select “Open” when prompted
  • Select all of the files in that directory by holding down CTRL while clicking each one; then right-click and choose “Extract”. This will create another directory with those same files inside it.

You can modify this process if you like, for example extracting only certain subfolders or individual files – whatever is needed for your project!

Some of our favorites are WinRAR (Windows), iZip Pro (Mac) and The Unarchiver (all platforms).

Use GitHub Desktop

GitHub Desktop is a cross-platform Git GUI client that helps you to connect with GitHub, manage your repositories and collaborate with others. It offers a common interface for working on all of your projects, regardless of the programming language used or the platform where they are hosted (e.g., GitHub, GitLab).

GitHub Desktop is distributed as a free open-source download and can be downloaded here.

The repository browser lets you view files in various formats including images which makes it easy to see changes made by collaborators over time without downloading every version manually.

The commit history shows who made each change so there is more accountability – making sure what should happen does actually happen! There are also features such as Pull Requests which help teams work together effectively by merging and commenting on each other’s work.

Use a Code Editor

Most modern code editors like Visual Studio Code and Android Studio support GitHub integration.

Example with VS Code:

  • Firstly, your PC needs to have Visual Studio Code installed.
  • Access VS Code ‘s Extension marketplace.
  • Search for “GitHub” to find all available plugins.
  • Pick GitHub extension to install.

After these steps, you will be able to view files from GitHub from within VS Code.

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