Who is GIT?
Git is a distributed Version Control System (VCS) (DevOps / software configuration management) for tracking changes in source code and coordinating work across development teams.
- Distributed version control for source code and other files
- Branching and merging model for parallel development workflows
- Support for both local and remote repositories over protocols such as HTTPS and Secure Shell (SSH)
- Integration foundation for DevOps pipelines and Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) tooling
- Open source ecosystem with pluggable hooks and integrations
Show more
More About GIT
Git provides a distributed architecture in which every clone of a repository contains a complete copy of the project history, including all commits, branches, and tags. This model supports offline work, local experimentation, and peer-to-peer collaboration without reliance on a central server, while still allowing organizations to standardize on shared remote repositories for coordination and governance.
In enterprise environments, Git is commonly used as the core System of Record (SOR) for application source code, Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC), configuration files, and documentation. Teams organize work through branches, which enable concurrent feature development, release lines, and hotfix workflows. Git’s merge and rebase capabilities support integration of parallel lines of development, and its commit history forms an auditable change log that can be linked to issue tracking, code review, and deployment systems.
Git uses Content Addressable Storage (CAS) based on cryptographic hashes, which provides integrity guarantees for repository objects and facilitates efficient storage and transfer of data. The system represents history as a directed acyclic graph (DAG) of commits, allowing tools to analyze ancestry, detect divergence, and manage complex branching strategies such as trunk-based development and long-lived maintenance branches. Protocol support includes local file access, HTTP/HTTPS, and SSH for interaction with remote repositories.
Within broader DevOps and CI/CD (cloud DevOps) workflows, Git often acts as the trigger point for automated pipelines: pushes to specific branches or tags initiate builds, tests, security scans, and deployments. Hooks and integration points allow organizations to enforce policies such as commit message formats, code quality gates, and access controls. Git’s compatibility with various repository hosting platforms enables integration with code review systems, project management tools, and artifact repositories.
From a marketplace taxonomy perspective, Git aligns with software configuration management (SCM), source code management, and version control categories. It also underpins practices such as GitOps for infrastructure management, where repository state serves as the declared configuration for production environments, and changes flow through automated reconciliation processes. Enterprises deploy Git across monorepos and multi-repo strategies, use it to manage both application and platform code, and integrate it with identity and access management systems to implement governance over who can read, write, and approve changes.
Git’s open source licensing and broad ecosystem support adoption across various operating systems, programming languages, and development frameworks. Organizations can host repositories on internal servers or use external hosting platforms, while retaining a consistent Git-based workflow for branching, merging, tagging, and release management. This consistency supports standardized practices across teams and projects, while the distributed model allows flexibility in how individual teams structure their day-to-day development processes.
Our description of GIT. Updated January 2026.
