How to collaborate in PhpStorm via version control?

Question

git

Hello!
I am a solo developer. I usually use GitHub to save my edits, so I don't even use pull. Commit and Push are the two buttons I know. I read the basics and instructions for Git for a long time, but since I didn’t use it in a team, I don’t have any skills.
Now the situation is like this. There is a site under development. I was asked to make edits on SEO.
Usually I create a new project in PhpStorm with existing files and upload my site via FTP, but now I saw the familiar .git and .idea folders on the server, so I first downloaded the entire site for myself, and then in PhpStorm I did "Open project" and it turns out, that I am already connected to version control (I see in the logs all the commits that were before, although I don’t even know if it’s on github or not).
And here's the actual question. How to join existing developers and not harm or interfere with them? But also so that their commits do not interfere with me, since I work with files on the server and, in fact, I don’t care about their current edits, which are not yet on the site itself.
Do you just need to create your own branch and make your own commits there? Like, let them merge it all with the master branch at their own discretion, etc. So?
Tell me please.

Answer 1

I would contact the developers and clarify about

do not harm them and do not interfere

so maybe there is an auto-deploy there, and the commits generally go to github, bitbucket or somewhere else, so you will most likely break their auto-deploy.
and so a separate branch, to whom to send to check, if there is no one, then try to raise your branch, if after a few days there were no problems, then merge with peace of mind.

Answer 2

I didn’t figure it out ... I thought that if they do it in a separate branch, then they will see my edits and merge them on their own if necessary.
So I'm still going to upload my changes to the server right away. And I myself synchronize with the server.
I created a branch, and when I clicked Push, then PhpStorm began to ask me for a password from bitbucket, but not mine, but a certain user ... I couldn’t even switch to my account. Seeing this in the .git settings was copied from the server ...
In general, I thought that I would become part of the team))) and then a bummer.
For myself, I can clone everything into my repository myself, make commits and not worry.