Git

What is Git?

Git is a distributed version-control system that records changes to a set of files over time, so that any version can be recalled later. Created by Linus Torvalds in 2005 to manage the Linux kernel, it has become the default way software teams track code, collaborate and safeguard their work against mistakes.

How Git works

Every developer holds a complete copy of the repository, including its full history. Work happens locally: you stage the changes you want to keep, commit them with a short message, and later push them to a shared remote. Because each commit is a snapshot linked to the previous one, Git can reconstruct exactly what the code looked like at any point.

Key Git concepts

• Repository: the project and its entire history.
• Commit: a saved snapshot of changes with a message.
• Branch: an independent line of work that can be merged back later.
• Merge: combining branches, resolving any conflicts.
• Remote: a shared copy hosted on a server.

Git vs GitHub

Git and GitHub are often confused. Git is the underlying tool that runs on your machine; GitHub (like GitLab or Bitbucket) is a hosting platform built on top of Git that adds collaboration features: pull requests, issues, reviews and access control. You can use Git without GitHub, but not the other way around.

Why teams use Git

Git lets several people work on the same codebase in parallel without overwriting each other, keeps a complete audit trail of who changed what and when, and makes it safe to experiment because any change can be undone. Branching and merging turn risky edits into reversible, reviewable steps, the foundation of modern development workflows and continuous delivery.

Common Git workflow

A typical flow: create a branch for a feature, commit small changes as you go, push the branch to the remote, open a pull request for review, then merge into the main branch once approved. This keeps the main branch stable and every change traceable.

Git at BeBranded

Every custom application and automation we build is version-controlled with Git, giving clients a transparent, reversible history of their product. Learn more about how we design and ship software on our Web apps service.