How Git Thinks: Snapshots, Not Changes

Last lesson we understood why version control is needed. Now, still without commands, we build the single most important mental picture in Git: every time you save (commit), Git takes a full photo of the entire project folder — not a list of edits or changes. Most beginners imagine Git stores 'what

Think of Git as a photo album of your project: at each commit it photographs the whole folder in its full state. There's no 'change list' here — just a series of complete photos you can return to any of them.

Commit: The save action in Git. Each commit creates a full snapshot of all the project's files at that moment.
Snapshot: A full photo of the entire project folder at a moment — all the files, not just what changed. This is what Git stores in each commit.
Diff: The view of what changed between two versions. Git can show you a diff on demand, but it computes it from two photos — it doesn't store it.
Working directory: The folder where your files actually live and you edit them. When Git commits, it photographs the state of this folder.