Git is not GitHub

A common misunderstanding for new Developers is that Git and GitHub are the same thing, but they aren't.

Git is decentralised, so doesn't rely on using external repositories on services like GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket.

You can run git init and use it locally without pushing to any remote services.

These services also add extra terminology, such as forks, syncing and pull or merge requests which aren't part of Git itself.

This can cause confusion, which is why I think it's important to learn Git itself instead of relying on external services or desktop apps.

And, if you're going to use a remote repository, consider something like Gitea, which you can host yourself and keep control of your data.