Git or GitHub: What’s the Difference and Are There Alternatives?

GitHub has go truthful ubiquitous that you mightiness deliberation Git is an interchangeable shorthand. But the 2 are precise different, and alternatives to each are available, if not rather arsenic popular.

What Is GitHub?

GitHub is simply a web app that lets developers host, share, and lend codification for software. Many of these projects are unfastened source and invitation contributions from the public. GitHub has a assemblage absorption with idiosyncratic accounts, propulsion requests to negociate codification changes, contented trackers, and wikis for documentation.

The tract launched arsenic an autarkic merchandise successful 2008, earlier Microsoft bought it successful 2018. Since its launch, GitHub has grown successful popularity to specified an grade that it is present the de facto location for galore fashionable apps.

The GitHub Pages diagnostic offers escaped web hosting for projects, truthful they tin beryllium wholly self-contained connected the platform, without the request for a abstracted website. You tin adjacent execute constricted edits straight connected GitHub. Depending connected the quality of your project, you tin besides clone a repository to edit and trial the codification locally.

The GitHub web work uses Git arsenic an underlying exertion to way its projects.

So, What Is Git?

Git—a distributed mentation power strategy (VCS)—launched successful 2005, and was developed by Linux kernel creator, Linus Torvalds. Git is open-source bundle that tracks codification changes implicit time. It stores the differences betwixt versions of each file, truthful it’s similar having an unlimited fig of saved versions. Git uses the word “repository” to notation to a postulation of files that marque up a project.

Developers usually usage Git connected the bid enactment via the git command. This programme has a immense fig of options, with a immense array of sub-commands to execute assorted low-level functions connected a Git repository.

For example, you tin crook a mean directory of files into a Git repository utilizing this command:

git init

A emblematic workflow involves editing files, and past committing changes to Git to prevention a mentation of each file:

git adhd file-to-track.c

git perpetrate -m "Fixed a bug with the checkout process"

You tin clone a GitHub project, enactment connected it locally, and propulsion your changes to the distant repository connected GitHub’s servers. You tin bash truthful utilizing the aforesaid mechanics for immoderate Git repository, whether it’s hosted connected GitHub, a akin competing service, oregon a section server.

If you’re uncomfortable utilizing the git bid successful a terminal, you tin usage a GUI Git lawsuit instead. The GitHub Desktop app works with immoderate Git repository, but it works good with the GitHub work by default.

Other Git clients are available, including Fork, Sourcetree, and GitKraken. You tin usage them with a GitHub task oregon immoderate different Git repository. Switching clients is easy, truthful consciousness escaped to experimentation to find 1 you like.

Do I Have to Use Both—or Either?

First, you should recognize that you tin usage GitHub to download bundle without a idiosyncratic account. Most projects fto you download an executable app via the Releases page and you tin ever clone a nationalist repository to get a implicit transcript of its root code.

If you’re looking to support a nationalist open-source project, GitHub is an fantabulous spot to big it, but it’s not the lone option. Aside from managing your task manually, you tin usage alternate hosts similar GitLab oregon Bitbucket. These services bash more-or-less the aforesaid happening arsenic GitHub.

Because these services are built connected apical of Git, moving your repository to a antithetic host—or utilizing much than one—is reasonably straightforward. This means you tin ever determination your root code, but the features that GitHub adds connected apical of Git—issues oregon wiki pages, for example—are tied to the service. Therefore, you mightiness take to minimize your usage of these features to debar locking yourself into GitHub.

However, GitHub’s API is comprehensive, truthful your information is freely obtainable—with a spot of work. You tin entree issues utilizing the API and download their associated information to migrate issue-tracking to a antithetic platform. Project Wikis are themselves Git repositories, truthful you tin clone them and export them if necessary.

If you privation to usage a antithetic VCS, you’ll request to look further afield than GitHub. Beanstalk is simply a web app that supports some Git and 1 of its alternatives, Subversion (SVN).

There are different alternatives to Git, similar Mercurial. However, these are acold little fashionable than Git, and are lone truly worthy utilizing if you necessitate immoderate circumstantial niche features. For astir projects, particularly caller ones, Git should beryllium your default VCS, and GitHub’s fantabulous enactment for it volition lone reenforce your choice.