Overview

An overview of GitHub as a git-hosting platform.

GitHub is a web-based git-hosting and collaboration platform owned by Microsoft, which acquired it in 2018. It is the largest git host in the world by number of repositories and developers, and its network effect around open-source projects makes it the de facto default home for public code, package ecosystems, and developer social proof (stars, followers, contribution graphs).

Beyond hosting repositories, GitHub has expanded into a broader developer platform encompassing CI/CD (Actions), package registries, security scanning, project management, and AI-assisted coding through Copilot. It is offered as a hosted SaaS product (github.com) as well as a self-hosted option (GitHub Enterprise Server) for organizations that need on-premises control.