What are the differences between Git and GitHub?

Git and GitHub are two very widely used tools in the development world, and yet, many developers at some point ask themselves about the differences between Git and GitHub.

To make it short:

• Git is a version control system, used to track the different modifications made to a project;
• GitHub is a collaboration platform that enables multiple people to work on the same project.

Now that that's said, let's analyze the numerous differences between Git and GitHub to understand how using both tools can create a superb user experience. 😉

What is Git? 🤨

Git is an open-source software created by Linus Torvalds (the founder of Linux) in 2005 (see the complete article on Git).

Linux is an operating system just like Windows and Mac OS. It is distributed as open-source, which means that thousands of developers around the world contribute to improving it. 😗

He needed a tool to manage the development of Linux. He particularly needed to track the history of changes in the source code so he could revert to previous versions if necessary.

In broad terms, Git allows you to:

• track different versions - You can create multiple save points on a project to create versions, allowing you to trace the history of a project's development;
• maintain your project more easily - Thanks to the branch system, a project tracked by Git can have several different versions simultaneously: they allow you to work on bugs or features without touching the current version of the project. Once the feature is completed, you simply need to create a merge between the branch and the trunk (the project currently in production).

To learn more about Git with a detailed presentation, check out our dedicated article on this subject! 😉

What is GitHub?

GitHub is nothing like Git: it's an online platform that uses Git (see the complete article on GitHub).

Owned by Microsoft, it is designed to store Git repositories. This allows you to upload the different versions of a project online (very practical to stay calm! You can now lose your computer without losing your files ✨).

It also allows you to collaborate with others: this is what is called open-source.

Finally, another very useful feature of GitHub is what is called GitHub Actions. They allow you to perform automatic deployment.

Automatic deployment involves making daily updates to the online project rather than making just one update per month.

To learn more about GitHub, here is also a detailed article on GitHub!

Differences between Git and GitHub

As we've seen, Git and GitHub are therefore very different: one uses the other, but one is not like the other!

To make it short, the main difference between Git and GitHub lies in the fact that Git is the tool that allows you to create versions of your project while GitHub is the platform that allows you to digitize your repositories.

Let's take a concrete example! 😋

A developer will use Git to create a history of changes in their local project. Once satisfied with the changes, they will create a save point (a commit).

But the problem is that a save point is useless if your computer is stolen: so they will upload it to GitHub to ensure their codes are secured online.

They can also benefit from GitHub's powerful tools to collaborate with developers and receive potential suggestions to improve their code.

What are the alternatives to GitHub?

Even though GitHub's monopoly is an open secret, there are some alternatives if you don't want to use Microsoft's tool:

• GitLab - which looks very much like GitHub in terms of features;
• Bitbucket - which offers the same features as GitHub while also having a true integrated project management system based on tools like Jira and Trello.

Conclusion

In summary, Git is a version control tool while GitHub allows you to save your versions directly online (while offering many features).

The combination of the two offers a powerful system used by 99% of developers to manage their projects while collaborating with a team.

To learn how to use Git and GitHub, check this out, it should help you!

FAQ

Here is a little summary of the most frequently asked questions by our learners.

Can Git be used without GitHub?

Yes, you can absolutely use Git alone to maintain a history of changes on your projects without needing to use GitHub.

Is GitHub free?

The vast majority of developers do not pay anything for GitHub. However, a paid version exists if you need very specific features.

How to learn to use Git and GitHub?

By taking our comprehensive training on Git and GitHub for developers. 😬