git, npm, npx — What They Do in One Sentence Each
git — tracks changes to your code over time
git is the program that saves snapshots of your code as you work, so you can see history, undo mistakes, and share your work through GitHub — you'll see commands like git status, git add, and git commit constantly once you start building real projects.
npm — installs and manages code libraries other people wrote
npm (Node Package Manager) downloads and installs pre-written pieces of code (called "packages") that your project depends on, so you don't have to write everything from scratch. npm install is the command you'll type most often — it reads a project's list of dependencies and downloads them all.
npx — runs a tool once without permanently installing it
npx toolname downloads and runs a tool just for this one command, without cluttering your computer with a permanent installation — useful for one-off commands like npx vercel to deploy a project, which you'll see used throughout 404Fault's own development workflow.
Key Takeaways
- `git` tracks changes to your code over time, so you can undo mistakes and share work via GitHub.
- `npm` downloads and installs code libraries ("packages") your project depends on.
- `npx` runs a tool for one command without permanently installing it on your computer.
- You'll see all three constantly once you start building real projects.
Check if these tools are installed
Run `git --version`, then `npm --version`, then `npx --version`. If any command isn't recognized, that tool isn't installed yet — that's expected and fine at this stage.