I’ve just completed the first phase of a multi-phase assignment for a course, and it is working fine. However, I didn’t use any version control tools like Git during its development. Now that I am starting the second phase, I want to initialize a Git repository to manage my code more effectively.

Here are my concerns:

1. Should I initialize the Git repository now and track the entire
   project from this point onward, including the first phase that is
   already complete?
2. Is it advisable to use the same repository for both phases of the
   assignment, or should I create separate repositories for each phase?
   I am worried that if we separate the repos, any future improvements
   or bug fixes in phase one will need to be applied to both
   repositories, which doesn’t seem efficient.
3. Would using branches for different phases be a better approach?
4. What are the best practices for organizing my repository and commits
   to ensure a clean and understandable history?

Any guidance on how to proceed with version control for this project would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!