What is GitHub and How to Use It?

What is GitHub?

GitHub is the largest platform for hosting Git repositories online. It lets developers store code, collaborate, review changes, and contribute to open source. Owned by Microsoft, used by 100M+ developers.

Git vs GitHub

• Git — the version control tool on your computer.
• GitHub — cloud hosting + collaboration features for Git.

Core Features

Feature	Purpose
Repositories	Store projects
Pull Requests	Propose & review changes
Issues	Track bugs/tasks
Actions	CI/CD automation

Getting Started

git clone https://github.com/user/repo.git
cd repo
# make changes
git add .
git commit -m "My change"
git push

FAQs

Is GitHub free?

Yes — free for public and private repos. Paid plans add team features. More in our GitHub guides.

GitHub vs GitLab?

Both host Git; GitHub is the most popular, GitLab has strong built-in DevOps.