GitHub is a website where developers store their code online and collaborate on it. It is built on Git, the program that tracks changes, and adds a web interface, backups, permissions and review tools. Microsoft has owned it since 2018.
Git versus GitHub
People mix these up constantly. Git is software that runs on a computer and records history. GitHub is a hosting service: you push your Git history up to it, and teammates pull it down. You can use Git with no GitHub account at all, and alternatives such as GitLab and Bitbucket do the same hosting job.
What GitHub adds on top of Git
- Remote repositories. Each project lives in a repository that can be public, so anyone can read it, or private, limited to invited people.
- Pull requests. A proposed change shows up as a page where others can read the diff, comment line by line and approve it before it is merged. See pull request.
- Issues. A lightweight to-do and bug tracker attached to each project.
- GitHub Actions. Automation that runs tests or deploys code whenever something is pushed, a common way to set up CI/CD.
- GitHub Pages. Free hosting for static websites straight from a repository.
A typical example
A bakery hires a freelancer to build its site. The freelancer creates a private repository under the bakery's GitHub organization and invites themselves as a collaborator. Every change they make is pushed there. Hosting services like Vercel and Netlify connect to the repository and publish the site whenever the main branch changes. If the freelancer moves on, the bakery removes their access and hands the repository to the next developer, history intact.
When GitHub matters for a small business
If someone writes custom code for you, GitHub is where it should live, and the account that owns it should be yours, not the developer's personal one. That one detail decides whether you keep your code when a working relationship ends. If you use a closed website builder with no code access, GitHub is irrelevant to you. We.Inc can export a generated site's code to GitHub, which is useful if you later want a developer to take it further.
Common GitHub mistakes
- Letting a contractor own the repository. Ask them to create it in an organization you control, or to transfer ownership.
- Making a repository public by accident. Check the visibility setting, especially if config files contain customer data or keys.
- No second admin. If the only owner loses their two-factor device, recovery can be slow. Add a trusted second owner.
- Treating it as the only backup. GitHub stores code, not your database, uploads or email.
Related terms
- Git: the version control tool GitHub is built around.
- Repository: the unit GitHub hosts.
- Pull request: GitHub's review workflow.
- CI/CD: automated testing and release, often run through GitHub Actions.