dillonrowan
diff --git a/‎pages/first_time.md‎
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@@ -4,10 +4,59 @@ title: Your first time with git and github
 ---
 
 If you've never used git or github before, there are a bunch of things
-that you need to do.
+that you need to do.  It's
+[very well explained on github](http://help.github.com/articles/set-up-git),
+but repeated here for completeness.
 
-- Get a github account
-- Install git on your computer
-- Set up git with your user name and email
-- Set up ssh
-- Paste your ssh public key into your github account settings
+- Get a [github](http://github.com) account.
+- Download and install [git](http://git-scm.com/downloads).
+- Set up git with your user name and email.
+
+  - Open a terminal/shell and type:
+  
+    ````
+    $ git config --global user.name "Your name here"
+    ````
+
+    ````
+    $ git config --global user.email "your_email@example.com"
+    ````
+
+- Set up ssh on your computer.  I like
+  [Roger Peng](http://www.biostat.jhsph.edu/~rpeng)'s
+  [guide to setting up password-less logins](http://www.biostat.jhsph.edu/bit/nopassword.html).
+  Also see [github's guide to generating SSH keys](http://help.github.com/articles/generating-ssh-keys).
+
+  - Look to see if you have files `~/.ssh/id_rsa` and
+  `~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub`.
+  - If not, create such public/private keys: Open a terminal/shell and type:
+  
+    ````
+    $ ssh-keygen -t rsa -C "your_email@example.com"
+    ````
+
+  - Copy your public key into your clipboard: In the terminal/shell, type:
+  
+    ````
+    $ pbcopy < ~ /.ssh/id_rsa.pub
+    ````
+
+- Paste your ssh public key into your github account settings.
+
+  - Go to your github [Account Settings](http://github.com/settings/profile)
+  - Click &ldquo;[SSH Keys](http://github.com/settings/ssh)&rdquo; on the left.
+  - Click &ldquo;Add SSH Key&rdquo; on the right.
+  - Add a label (like &ldquo;My laptop&rdquo;) and paste the public
+    key into the big text box.
+  - In a terminal/shell, type the following to test it:
+  
+    ````
+    $ ssh -T git@github.com
+    ````
+    
+  - If it says something like the following, it worked:
+  
+    ````
+    Hi username! You've successfully authenticated, but Github does
+    not provide shell access.
+    ````