Github Repository

I have two or three ideas as work in progress on my config and losing track, so decided to bite the bullet and use github. I have set up the repository (well 2 actually, one for core config and a lovelace repository) and I think I understand the basics of github now.

My question therefore is what are the hints and tips on managing your config using github. For example, do you use the config folder directly as a remote repository or do you manually copy over files from github to the config folder after completing the workflow in github? Anything else you would suggest would be great