Image of GitHub

GitHub

Organization

A subsidiary of Microsoft and a platform for software developers. GitHub Co-pilot was one of the first major launches of Microsoft's AI assistant technology.


First Mentioned

1/22/2026, 4:20:10 AM

Last Updated

1/22/2026, 4:23:11 AM

Research Retrieved

1/22/2026, 4:23:11 AM

Summary

GitHub is a leading developer platform and subsidiary of Microsoft, specializing in distributed version control via Git and collaborative software development. Headquartered in San Francisco, it serves as the world's largest source code host, supporting over 100 million developers and hosting more than 420 million repositories as of early 2023. The platform provides essential tools for open-source and professional workflows, including bug tracking, continuous integration, and task management. Since its acquisition by Microsoft in 2018, GitHub has continued to expand its ecosystem, reaching a milestone of over five billion developer contributions to open-source projects by 2024.

Referenced in 1 Document
Research Data
Extracted Attributes
  • Headquarters

    88, Colin P. Kelly Junior Street, San Francisco, California, 94107, United States

  • Parent Company

    Microsoft

  • Core Technology

    Git

  • Developer Count

    Over 100 million (as of January 2023)

  • Total Repositories

    Over 420 million (as of January 2023)

  • Public Repositories

    At least 28 million (as of January 2023)

  • Open-Source Projects

    Over 500 million (as of 2024)

  • Geographic Coordinates

    37.7821769, -122.3912450

  • Developer Contributions

    Over 5 billion (in 2024)

Timeline
  • GitHub introduced GitHub Pages, a static web hosting service for blogs and documentation. (Source: Wikipedia)

    2008-01-01

  • GitHub was acquired by Microsoft and became a subsidiary. (Source: Wikipedia)

    2018-01-01

  • GitHub began offering limited private repositories at no cost for up to three contributors. (Source: Wikipedia)

    2019-01-01

  • GitHub made all core features free for everyone, including private repositories with unlimited collaborators. (Source: Wikipedia)

    2020-04-14

  • GitHub reported reaching 100 million developers and over 420 million repositories. (Source: Wikipedia)

    2023-01-01

  • GitHub became the world's largest source code host. (Source: Wikipedia)

    2023-06-01

  • Developer contributions to over 500 million open-source projects exceeded five billion. (Source: Wikipedia)

    2024-01-01

GitHub

GitHub ( ) is a proprietary developer platform that allows developers to create, store, manage, and share their code. It uses Git to provide distributed version control and GitHub itself provides access control, bug tracking, software feature requests, task management, continuous integration, and wikis for every project. GitHub is operated by Github, Inc., a subsidiary of Microsoft since 2018 which is headquartered in San Francisco. It is commonly used to host open source software development projects. As of January 2023, GitHub reported having over 100 million developers and more than 420 million repositories, including at least 28 million public repositories. It is the world's largest source code host as of June 2023. Over five billion developer contributions were made to more than 500 million open source projects in 2024.

Web Search Results
  • What Is GitHub? Use Cases and FAQ - Coursera

    # What Is GitHub? Use Cases and FAQ Written by Coursera Staff • Updated on GitHub is a web-based social coding platform. This article offers an overview of how GitHub works, its role in professional and open-source development, and how individuals and teams use it to collaborate on code. ## Key takeaways GitHub is a web-based platform for hosting Git repositories and supporting collaborative software development. A few things to know: It provides tools for version control, code review, issue tracking, and project management, all built around the Git system. Software developers use GitHub to develop code and share open-source projects with each other. You can get started with GitHub for free by creating a personal account. [...] ### What is GitHub used for? GitHub is used to host code and support collaboration across development teams. It provides a central place to store project files, track changes, and coordinate contributions. Team members can access the same repository, see the latest version of the code, and propose changes through features like branches and pull requests. GitHub also includes tools for reviewing code, discussing updates, and managing tasks, which makes it well-suited to both open-source and professional workflows. Because of this built-in support for communication and coordination, it's often referred to as a social coding platform ### What’s the difference between Git and GitHub? [...] This article outlines how GitHub works, its use cases, and frequently asked questions about the platform. If you'd like to get started with a little guidance from an industry pro, consider enrolling in Google's Introduction to Git and GitHub course. ## What is GitHub? GitHub is a centralized platform where developers store and manage code. It's based off of Git, adding features like pull requests, code review, issue tracking, and permissions control, making it a popular choice for individuals and development teams to collaborate on software projects from anywhere. ### What is GitHub used for?

  • GitHub - Wikipedia

    Anyone can browse and download public repositories, but only registered users can contribute content to repositories. With a registered user account, users can have discussions, manage repositories, submit contributions to others' repositories, and review changes to code. GitHub began offering limited private repositories at no cost in January 2019 (limited to three contributors per project). Previously, only public repositories were free. On April 14, 2020, GitHub made "all of the core GitHub features" free for everyone, including "private repositories with unlimited collaborators." [...] ### GitHub Pages [edit] In 2008, GitHub introduced GitHub Pages, a static web hosting service for blogs, project documentation, and books. All GitHub Pages content is stored in a Git repository as files served to visitors verbatim or in Markdown format. GitHub is integrated with the Jekyll "Jekyll (software)") static website and blog generator and GitHub continuous integration pipelines. Each time the content source is updated, Jekyll regenerates the website and automatically serves it via GitHub Pages infrastructure. [...] > GitHub is subject to US trade control laws, and is committed to full compliance with applicable law. At the same time, GitHub's vision is to be the global platform for developer "Developer (software)") collaboration, no matter where developers reside. As a result, we take seriously our responsibility to examine government mandates thoroughly to be certain that users and customers are not impacted beyond what is required by law. This includes keeping public repositories services, including those for open source projects, available and accessible to support personal communications involving developers in sanctioned regions.

  • What Is GitHub Used For and How Can It Enhance Your Projects?

    ## GitHub is built on top of Git GitHub is a cloud-based service and web-based interface built on top of Git. It allows developers to store their source code in the cloud integrated with the Git version control system to manage that code and maintain quality control. GitHub adds other features, such as a collaborative interface, to help the open-source community come together in a central place to work on projects. It makes project management easier and is the ideal solution for development teams creating open-source software. [...] Because Git is open-source software, you could technically host it on your own server. However, creating a free GitHub account to manage your source code is much easier. GitHub, owned by Microsoft, takes care of all the security features and server maintenance required to maintain a global community of developers. ## Differences between GitHub and Git GitHub is a service, while Git is software. GitHub offers features such as a web-based graphical interface and collaborative interfaces. It allows you to build web pages associated with a project and provides other tools that make project management for development projects easier. [...] Let’s get started! ## Introduction to GitHub GitHub is a code-hosting website service that allows programmers to collaborate on the same code base, regardless of where those programmers are located. The vast majority of GitHub projects are open-source projects. However, not all the code on GitHub matches that definition — it’s also possible to create private repositories on GitHub. As of January 2023, GitHub had reached 100 million users, and it’s still growing. The site is so popular for open-source development that one might even consider it a social networking site for developers. To understand the internals of GitHub more closely, we must first understand the “git” version control system (VCS). ### What are version control systems?

  • Quickstart for repositories - GitHub Docs

    Secure your repository using GitHub's available security features. For more information, see Quickstart for securing your repository. You can find interesting projects and repositories on GitHub and make changes to them by creating a fork of the repository. Forking a repository will allow you to make changes to another repository without affecting the original. For more information, see Fork a repository. Each repository on GitHub is owned by a person or an organization. You can interact with the people, repositories, and organizations by connecting and following them on GitHub. For more information, see Finding inspiration on GitHub. GitHub has a great support community where you can ask for help and talk to people from around the world. Join the conversation on GitHub Community. [...] 1. In the upper-right corner of any page, select , then click New repository. 2. Type a short, memorable name for your repository. For example, "hello-world". 3. Optionally, add a description of your repository. For example, "My first repository on GitHub." 4. Choose a repository visibility. For more information, see About repositories. 5. Toggle Add README to On. 6. Click Create repository. Congratulations! You've successfully created your first repository, and initialized it with a README file. Note To learn more about GitHub CLI, see About GitHub CLI.

  • How to create your first GitHub repository: A beginner's guide | Tutorial

    Kedasha: So you just created your first GitHub account. Now what? Well, it’s time to create your very first repository. Today, we’re diving into the heart of GitHub repositories. Whether you’re a developer, a writer, or just curious about version control, understanding repositories is your first step into the world of GitHub. I’m Kedasha and I’m so happy you’re here with me today. Welcome to GitHub for beginners. Today we’re chatting all about GitHub repositories. What they are, how you create one, their varying features, settings, and a lot more. I’m going to ask my good friend and colleague, Christina, to join me today on this one so we can chat all about repositories together. Hey, Christina. Christina: Hey, Kedasha. Thank you so much for having me on. I’m super excited to talk about [...] ▬▬▬▬▬▬ TIMESTAMPS ⌚ ▬▬▬▬▬▬ 00:00 Introduction to Creating your first repository 00:56 What is a repository? 01:38 Creating a repository 02:49 What are licenses? 04:03 Forking a repository 05:20 What is a .gitignore file? 06:37 What are the different tabs on GitHub repository? 08:31 What was Christina and Kedasha's first repository on GitHub? Stay up-to-date on all things GitHub by connecting with us: YouTube: Blog: X: LinkedIn: Insider newsletter: Instagram: TikTok: About GitHub It’s where over 100 million developers create, share, and ship the best code possible. It’s a place for anyone, from anywhere, to build anything—it’s where the world builds software. [...] # How to create your first GitHub repository: A beginner's guide | Tutorial ## GitHub 581000 subscribers 2689 likes ### Description 174832 views Posted: 24 Jun 2024 Creating your first GitHub repository is a milestone for any aspiring developer. In this video, we break down the process of creating your first repository. Discover the importance of selecting an appropriate license, how to fork a repo, and the role of a .gitignore file. @ChristinaWarren also provides a comprehensive overview of the various tabs you'll encounter in a GitHub repository, ensuring you're well-equipped to navigate and utilize GitHub effectively. #Repository #Coding #GitHub ▬▬▬▬▬▬ WANT TO LEARN MORE? 🚀 ▬▬▬▬▬▬ 💭 To keep conversing about Git and getting started on GitHub, head to the GitHub Community:

Location Data

GitHub, 88, Colin P. Kelly Junior Street, South Beach, South of Market, San Francisco, California, 94107, United States

company

Coordinates: 37.7821769, -122.3912450

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