Git vs GitHub

These two names appear together so often that many people assume they are the same thing. They are not. Understanding the distinction is the foundation for everything in this module.

Git

Git is version control software that runs on your machine. It is a command-line program — the one you have been using throughout this course. It tracks your project’s history, manages branches, handles merges, and stores everything in the .git directory inside your project folder.

Git was created by Linus Torvalds in 2005 to manage the Linux kernel’s source code. It is open-source, free, and runs entirely offline. You can use Git forever without ever touching GitHub.

GitHub

GitHub is a website that hosts Git repositories. It provides a web interface for your repositories — viewing commits, comparing branches, reviewing diffs, opening and merging pull requests, managing issues, and much more. GitHub is owned by Microsoft and offers free hosting for public and private repositories.

GitHub is built on top of Git. When you push a repository to GitHub, you are pushing a copy of your Git repository — with its full commit history, branches, and tags — to GitHub’s servers. GitHub stores it and displays it through a web interface.

The relationship

Your local repository (on your machine) and your remote repository (on GitHub) are separate copies that you keep in sync by pushing and pulling.

Your Machine                    GitHub
──────────────                  ─────────────────────────────
git-practice/                   github.com/you/git-practice
  .git/                           (complete copy of the repo)
    objects/
    refs/

When you run git push, you send your new commits to GitHub. When you run git pull, you receive new commits from GitHub. At any point, both copies are complete, independent repositories — if GitHub went away, your local copy still has the full history.

Other hosting platforms

GitHub is the most popular Git hosting platform, but not the only one:

• GitLab — popular for self-hosted setups and built-in CI/CD
• Bitbucket — popular in enterprise Atlassian environments
• Azure DevOps — Microsoft’s enterprise platform with Git hosting + work item tracking

All of these host Git repositories and use the same underlying Git protocol. Everything you learn about pushing, pulling, and pull requests in this course applies to all of them — the commands are the same, only the web UI differs.

Why GitHub matters for developers

GitHub is where the industry lives. Nearly all open-source software is hosted there. When you apply for development jobs, employers will look at your GitHub profile. The STO project you have built throughout this learning path will live on GitHub as tangible evidence of what you can do.

A GitHub profile with real, complete projects is one of the most valuable things a developer without professional experience can have. Module 07 walks through publishing the STO site to GitHub as your first portfolio piece.

Exercise

No commands in this lesson. Instead, if you do not already have a GitHub account:

1. Go to github.com and create a free account.
2. Choose a username you would be comfortable sharing with employers — it will appear in the URLs of your repositories.
3. Complete your profile: add a real name, a brief bio, and a profile picture if you have one.

If you already have a GitHub account, review your profile. Does it represent you professionally? Is the name and bio accurate? This is small work with real impact.

Recap

• Git is version control software that runs on your machine. Works entirely offline.
• GitHub is a website that hosts Git repositories and adds a web interface for collaboration.
• They are separate: you use Git locally; you use GitHub to share and collaborate.
• Your local repository and the GitHub repository are separate copies, synced via push and pull.
• Other platforms (GitLab, Bitbucket, Azure DevOps) also host Git repositories using the same protocol.
• GitHub is where the industry’s open-source code lives and where employers look at developer portfolios.

The next lesson walks through creating a new repository on GitHub and the options you will encounter along the way.