About GitHub
GitHub is a platform for hosting Git repositories and working on code together. It adds pull requests, code review, automation and security scanning on top of version control.
What it does
GitHub stores code in repositories and records every change made to it. Teams propose changes through pull requests, review them and merge them once they are approved. Built-in tools run automated workflows, check code quality and scan for vulnerabilities and leaked secrets. Copilot, its AI coding agent, can take on tasks and projects as well.
Key features
- Git repository hosting for code of any size
- Pull requests with review and approval steps
- Actions for automated CI/CD workflows
- Secret scanning and vulnerability detection
- Cloud development environments with Codespaces
Who it's for
Individual developers, open source projects and companies that build software in teams. It suits groups that want code, reviews and automated checks kept in one place.
Pricing and good to know
GitHub has a free tier and paid plans for teams and businesses. The site links to a plan comparison, and enterprise plans can be trialled for free. Most of the product runs in the browser, and Codespaces adds cloud development environments for work that needs a full setup.
Highlights
- Host Git repositories and review pull requests
- Automate builds and checks with Actions
- Scan code and secrets for security issues
- Start cloud development environments in Codespaces
- Use an AI coding agent for tasks and projects
