Git () is a distributed version control system that tracks versions of files. It is often used to control Source code by programmers collaboratively developing software.
Design goals of Git include speed, data integrity, and support for distributed, non-linear workflows – thousands of parallel branches running on different computers.
Git was created for use in the development of the Linux kernel by Linus Torvalds and others developing the kernel.
As with most other distributed version control systems, and unlike most client–server systems, Git maintains a local copy of the entire repository, a.k.a. repo, with history and version-tracking abilities, independent of network access or a central server. A repo is stored on each computer in a standard directory with additional, hidden files to provide version control capabilities. Git provides features to synchronize changes between repos that share history; copied (cloned) from each other. For collaboration, Git supports synchronizing with repos on remote machines. Although all repos (with the same history) are peers, developers often use a central server to host a repo to hold an integrated copy.
Git is a free and open-source software shared under the GPL-2.0-only license.
The trademark “Git” is registered by the Software Freedom Conservancy, marking its official recognition and continued evolution in the open-source community.
Today, Git is the de facto standard version control system. It is the most popular distributed version control system, with nearly 95% of developers reporting it as their primary version control system as of 2022. It is the most widely used source-code management tool among professional developers. There are offerings of Git repository services, including GitHub, SourceForge, Bitbucket and GitLab.