Type of site
|
Git repository hosting service |
---|---|
Available in | English |
Founded | February 8, 2008 |
Headquarters | San Francisco, California, U.S. |
Area served | Worldwide |
Founder(s) |
Tom Preston-Werner Chris Wanstrath PJ Hyett |
CEO | Chris Wanstrath |
Key people | PJ Hyett (COO) |
Industry | Software |
Employees | 598 |
Slogan(s) | "Build software better, together.", "Where software is built" |
Website | github |
Alexa rank | 61 (January 2017[update]) |
Registration | Optional (required for creating and joining projects) |
Users | 14 million (April 2016) |
Launched | 10 April 2008 |
Current status | Active |
Written in | Ruby |
GitHub is a web-based Git or version control repository and Internet hosting service. It offers all of the distributed version control and source code management (SCM) functionality of Git as well as adding its own features. It provides access control and several collaboration features such as bug tracking, feature requests, task management, and for every project.
GitHub offers both plans for private and free repositories on the same account which are commonly used to host open-source software projects. As of April 2016, GitHub reports having more than 14 million users and more than 35 million repositories, making it the largest host of source code in the world.
The trademark mascot of GitHub is Octocat, an anthropomorphized cat with cephalopod limbs.
Development of the GitHub platform began on 1 October 2007. The site was launched in April 2008 by Tom Preston-Werner, Chris Wanstrath, and PJ Hyett after it had been made available for a few months prior as a beta release.
Projects on GitHub can be accessed and manipulated using the standard Git command-line interface and all of the standard Git commands work with it. GitHub also allows registered and non-registered users to browse public repositories on the site. Multiple desktop clients and Git plugins have also been created by GitHub and other third parties that integrate with the platform.
A user must create an account in order to contribute content to the site, but public repositories can be browsed and downloaded by anyone. With a registered user account, users are able to discuss, manage, create repositories, submit contributions to others' repositories, and review changes to code.