What is GitHub?

What GitHub is

GitHub is a platform for hosting Git repositories, reviewing code, tracking issues, and running automation. It keeps every change to a project recorded and backed up, and lets clients see progress on their code.

GitHub launched in 2008, founded by Tom Preston-Werner, Chris Wanstrath, PJ Hyett and Scott Chacon. Git was already popular with some developers but was hard to share and review code with. GitHub gave Git a friendly website and introduced the pull request as a way to propose and discuss changes.

It quickly became the main home for open source projects. Microsoft bought GitHub in 2018 and has kept it running as a separate platform. GitHub Actions for automation became generally available in 2019, the same year that free accounts gained unlimited private repositories.

How GitHub works

GitHub stores Git repositories on its servers. A repository, or repo, holds a project's files and its full history. You work on a copy on your own computer, then push your commits to GitHub so they are backed up and visible to your team. Others pull those changes to stay up to date.

Teamwork happens through pull requests. You make changes on a branch, open a pull request, and teammates review the code line by line, leave comments and approve it before it is merged into the main branch. Issues track bugs and tasks, and a fork is your own copy of someone else's repository, which is how people contribute to open source.

GitHub Actions runs workflows when something happens in a repo, such as a push. A workflow can run tests, build the project and deploy it. This practice is known as CI/CD, short for continuous integration and continuous delivery.

Key features of GitHub

• Repository hosting

  Public and private Git repositories with a web view of files, history and branches. Access can be set per person or per team.

• Pull requests

  Proposed changes are shown as a diff that reviewers can comment on and approve. Checks can be required before merging.

• Issues and projects

  Issues record bugs, ideas and tasks. Project boards group them into a plan the whole team can follow.

• GitHub Actions

  Automated workflows run tests, builds and deployments in response to events. Many ready-made actions are available to reuse.

• GitHub Pages

  Static websites can be published straight from a repository. It is often used for documentation and personal sites.

• Security tools

  Features such as dependency alerts and secret scanning warn about known vulnerabilities and leaked keys in a repository.

When to use GitHub

GitHub compared with alternatives

How to start learning GitHub

1. 01Learn basic Git first: commit, branch, push and pull.
2. 02Create a free account at github.com and make your first repository with a README file.
3. 03Clone the repository to your computer, change a file, commit it and push it back.
4. 04Create a branch, open a pull request and merge it, following the Hello World guide in the official GitHub docs.
5. 05Add a simple GitHub Actions workflow that runs your tests or a lint check on every push.

What GitHub costs

GitHub has a free plan with unlimited public and private repositories, which covers most individuals and small teams. Paid plans add more automation minutes, storage, access controls and enterprise features. Check the official pricing page for current plans.

How DATAL Projects uses GitHub

GitHub is part of our software development work in the Philippines. Common uses:

• Hosting project source code
• Code review
• Automated builds and tests with GitHub Actions

Common questions about GitHub