gitBash - Git Repository Initializer

A convenient bash script to streamline git repository initialization with GitHub integration.

Preview

Features

• 🚀 Initializes git repository with git init
• 📝 Creates or checks for .gitignore with sensible defaults
• 🔍 Scans for sensitive files (secrets, credentials, large files)
• 🤔 Asks user about each potentially sensitive file
• 📚 Creates README.md if missing
• 💾 Creates initial commit
• 🐙 Creates and pushes to GitHub repository using gh CLI
• 🌐 Optionally enables GitHub Pages with automatic URL link in README
• 🔗 Creates live demo at username.github.io/repo-name
• 🖼️ Auto-embeds screenshot.png (if present) into README with a centered preview
• 🗂️ Prompts for catalogue.json metadata so the homepage catalogue can index the repo
• 🤖 (Optional) Uses OpenAI to prefill catalogue.json fields when OPENAI_API_KEY is set
• ♻️ gir -m modify mode retrofits existing repos (README, .gitignore, Pages guidance)
• 🧹 Optional cleanup: delete local folder after pushing to GitHub

Installation

The installation has already been completed! The script is located in ~/gitBash/ and configured in your .zshrc.

What was installed:

1. git-init-repo.sh - Main script that handles repository initialization
2. init.sh - Configuration file sourced by your shell
3. .zshrc - Updated to load the gitBash scripts

Usage

To use the script, navigate to any directory where you want to initialize a git repository and run:

git-init-repo

Or use the shorter alias:

gir

Modify an Existing Repository

gir -m

gir -m is perfect after cloning an older project—you'll get the README template, .gitignore, screenshot embedding, GitHub Pages guidance, and optional push without re-running git init.

What the script does:

1. Runs git init in the current directory
2. Creates a .gitignore file if one doesn't exist
3. Scans for:
   • Files with "secret", "password", "credentials" in the name
   • .pem, .key, .env files
   • .yaml and .json files
   • Large files (>10MB)
4. Asks you about each file found whether to ignore it or track it
5. Updates .gitignore accordingly
6. Creates a README.md if missing (asks for repo name and description)
7. Runs git add .
8. Runs git commit -m 'init commit'
9. Asks if repo should be public or private
10. Creates GitHub repository using gh CLI
11. Pushes the initial commit to GitHub
12. Asks if you want to enable GitHub Pages
13. If enabled, sets up GitHub Pages from the main branch
14. Adds a live demo link to your README (e.g., https://username.github.io/repo-name)
15. Commits and pushes the updated README
16. Detects screenshot.png (or .jpg/.jpeg variants) and adds a centered preview to README
17. Prompts you to create/update catalogue.json so the homepage catalogue can auto-ingest the repo (optionally prefilled via OpenAI when OPENAI_API_KEY is set)
18. In modify mode, optionally pushes your new commit to origin
19. In init mode, optionally deletes the local folder after everything is safely on GitHub

Smart Project Type Detection

The script automatically detects your project type and provides intelligent suggestions:

✅ Static Sites (GitHub Pages compatible):

• Detected: Projects with index.html and no backend dependencies
• Action: Offers to enable GitHub Pages
• Perfect for: HTML/CSS/JS, React builds, portfolio sites

⚠️ Backend/Server Apps (NOT GitHub Pages compatible):

The script detects:

• Python backends (Flask, FastAPI, Gradio, Streamlit, Django)
• Node.js backends (Express, Koa, Fastify, NestJS)
• Apps in requirements.txt or package.json

When detected, the script will:

• Warn you that GitHub Pages won't work
• Detect if it's designed for local use (and suggest keeping it local)
• Suggest appropriate hosting alternatives:
  • Render.com - Free tier, easy Python/Node hosting
  • Railway.app - Free tier, simple deployment
  • Hugging Face Spaces - Free, perfect for Gradio/ML apps
  • Vercel - Great for Next.js and serverless
  • Netlify - Static sites and some serverless functions

The script suggests but doesn't implement these alternatives - you stay in control!

Example Detection Scenarios:

Scenario 1: Simple HTML Game

Detecting project type...
✓ Detected: Static website (HTML/CSS/JS)
This project is perfect for GitHub Pages!
Do you want to enable GitHub Pages? (y/n):

Scenario 2: Gradio AI App

Detecting project type...
⚠️  Detected: Python backend app
GitHub Pages only works for static HTML/CSS/JS sites.
This project requires a server to run.

Note: This appears to be designed for LOCAL use only.
Consider if hosting it publicly is necessary/desired.

If you want to host this online, consider:
  • Render.com (free), Railway.app, or Hugging Face Spaces (for Gradio/ML apps)

Do you still want to try enabling GitHub Pages? (not recommended) (y/n):

GitHub Pages Support

When you enable GitHub Pages for static sites, the script will:

• Configure GitHub Pages to serve from your main branch
• Create a live demo URL at https://username.github.io/repo-name
• Automatically add a "🚀 Live Demo" link at the top of your README
• Commit and push the updated README

Screenshot Preview Support

If a screenshot.png, screenshot.jpg, or screenshot.jpeg exists in the project root, the script:

• Detects it automatically
• Adds a ## Preview section to the README
• Embeds the image centered at 720 px width for a polished look
• Skips if the screenshot is already referenced (avoids duplicates)

Homepage Catalogue Metadata

To power the cards on the homePage project, the script now manages catalogue.json following the guidance in catalogue_metadata.md:

• Prompts you (in both init and modify modes) to create or refresh catalogue.json
• Collects title, ID, one-liner, demo URL, screenshot path, kind, categories, tags, and status
• Auto-suggests sensible defaults (repo name, GitHub URL, detected screenshot path, etc.)
• Outputs valid JSON that the homepage workflow ingests automatically

AI-Assisted Prefill (Optional)

If you set OPENAI_API_KEY (and optionally OPENAI_MODEL, default gpt-4o-mini), gir will:

• Offer to call OpenAI and read your README/index/automation notes
• Receive a draft catalogue.json
• Prefill every prompt with the AI’s suggestion so you can confirm/tweak
• If the API is unavailable or rate-limited (HTTP 429), gir automatically falls back to manual entry

Set up in your shell config:

export OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-..."
# Optional: export OPENAI_MODEL="gpt-4o-mini"

You can always skip or re-run gir -m later if you need to update the catalogue entry.

Modify Mode (-m)

Use gir -m inside an existing repository to retrofit all the niceties:

• Keeps the current .git history—no re-initialization
• Regenerates .gitignore, README scaffold, screenshot previews, and sensitive-file scans
• Provides the same GitHub Pages intelligence/warnings without creating a new repo
• Lets you enter a fresh commit message (defaults to chore: repo retrofit)
• Prompts to push the new commit to origin when finished

Perfect for older projects you wish had the new automation—just clone, run gir -m, and follow the prompts.

Note: GitHub Pages requires a public repository, or a GitHub Pro/Team/Enterprise account for private repos.

Cleanup Option

After successfully pushing to GitHub (init mode only), the script asks if you want to delete the local folder to keep your computer clean.

Safety features:

• Shows exactly what will be deleted
• Requires typing 'DELETE' to confirm (prevents accidental deletion)
• Navigates to parent directory before deleting
• Displays your new location after cleanup

Use case: Perfect when you're initializing a project just to get it on GitHub and don't need a local copy, or when you want to clone it fresh later.

Prerequisites

• Git installed on your system
• GitHub CLI (gh) installed and authenticated
  • Install: brew install gh
  • Login: gh auth login
• Optional: OPENAI_API_KEY environment variable (and python3) to enable AI-assisted catalogue prefill

Activating in New Terminal Sessions

The script is automatically available in new terminal sessions since it's configured in .zshrc.

If you want to use it in your current terminal session without restarting, run:

source ~/.zshrc

Example Workflow

# Create a new project directory
mkdir my-new-project
cd my-new-project

# Initialize with git and GitHub
git-init-repo

The script will guide you through the process with interactive prompts!

Customization

You can edit the scripts:

• ~/gitBash/git-init-repo.sh - Main script logic
• ~/gitBash/init.sh - Aliases and PATH configuration

After editing, reload your shell configuration:

source ~/.zshrc

Troubleshooting

Command not found: Make sure you've sourced your .zshrc:

source ~/.zshrc

gh authentication error: Make sure GitHub CLI is authenticated:

gh auth status
gh auth login  # if not authenticated

Permission denied: Make sure the script is executable:

chmod +x ~/gitBash/git-init-repo.sh