Question 1

What is GitHub and how does it work?

Accepted Answer

GitHub is the home for all developers—a platform where you can share code, contribute to open source projects, or even automate your workflow with tools like GitHub Actions and Packages. If you're just getting started with GitHub, you may know us best as a place for version control and collaboration.

Question 2

How do I see GitHub's availability?

Accepted Answer

Check our real-time status report

Question 3

Why is GitHub so popular?

Accepted Answer

GitHub is built by developers for developers, and we're proud to be home to the world's largest open source community. With 50 million developers and millions more open source projects, GitHub has become the go-to place to collaborate and build software together.

Question 4

Who is GitHub for?

Accepted Answer

You! And it's not just developers who build on GitHub—Fortune 500 companies, small teams, project managers, and college professors all use GitHub to do their best work, in one place.

Question 5

Do people use GitHub only for code?

Accepted Answer

Nope. Like we mentioned above, different people and teams use GitHub for different projects. While we got our start as a version control platform, GitHub is now used to manage teams, share resumes, find new projects, track work, and host discussions, just to name a few.

Question 6

Why should I use GitHub?

Accepted Answer

GitHub isn't just a place to share code. It's a chance to do something bigger. On GitHub, you can shape the future of software, work with the best developers in the world, and grow your skills and help others.

Question 7

Are Git and GitHub the same?

Accepted Answer

Git is a version control system (VCS). GitHub is the platform where Git repositories can be hosted and teams can work on them together.

Question 8

Do I need Git in order to use GitHub?

Accepted Answer

Nope. GitHub repositories can be accessed from both Git and Subversion (SVN) clients.

Question 9

Is GitHub safe?

Accepted Answer

Millions of teams trust GitHub to keep their work safe. While security incidents can happen, our GitHub Security Team goes beyond industry standards to keep you and your code secure.

Question 10

Is GitHub free?

Accepted Answer

All GitHub users and teams get free, unlimited access to public and private repositories. But if you're looking for more collaboration features, security controls, and deployment options, we also offer paid plans: GitHub Team at $4 USD per user/month and Enterprise $21 USD per user/month.

Question 11

Is GitHub owned by Microsoft?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Microsoft acquired GitHub in 2018.

Question 12

How do I start using GitHub?

Accepted Answer

We saved the best for last. All you need is a GitHub account and internet access.

Everything you want to know about GitHub

Common questions answered