Git

Git is a free, open source version control system that tracks changes to files over time. It is built for projects of every size, from small personal code to very large codebases.

Git saves the history of a project as a series of snapshots. Every developer gets a full copy of the repository on their own machine, so most everyday work happens locally and does not need a network connection. You can compare versions, create branches to try ideas safely, and merge the work of several people back into one line of development.

• Full project history stored on your own machine
• Branches for working on changes separately
• Merge, rebase, stash and cherry-pick commits
• Command line tools plus many graphical clients
• Connects to hosting services to share your work

Git suits anyone who edits files that change over time, from solo developers to large engineering teams. Many hosting services and graphical Git clients work with it, so it is the common base for a lot of development workflows.

Git is free to download and use. It runs on Windows, Mac and Linux, and binary releases are published for all major platforms. Git is mainly a command line tool, so many beginners start with a graphical client. Hosting services that work with Git are priced separately.