GitHub Interactive Demo
Explore a demo of GitHub, the platform where software teams host code, manage pull requests, track issues, and coordinate development work across repositories.
What is GitHub?
GitHub is a cloud-based platform for version control and software collaboration, built on top of Git. Microsoft acquired it in 2018 for $7.5 billion. Today it hosts over 420 million repositories and has more than 100 million registered developers. Nearly every open-source project of consequence lives there, and it has become the default infrastructure for how software teams manage code.
At its core, GitHub gives you remote storage for Git repositories, a web interface for reviewing code changes, and tools to coordinate who does what and when. Pull requests are the center of the workflow: a developer branches off, makes changes, opens a PR, and teammates review and comment on the diff before merging. Issues track bugs, feature requests, and tasks. Projects (GitHub's Kanban-style boards) can link issues and PRs to a shared roadmap view.
GitHub Actions is now a significant part of the platform. It lets you define CI/CD pipelines as YAML files stored in your repository, automating testing, building, and deployment whenever code changes. GitHub Copilot, an AI coding assistant built on OpenAI models, is available as a paid add-on and has seen rapid adoption since launching in 2022. GitHub Pages allows free static site hosting directly from a repository.
How to get started with GitHub
- 1
Create an account and set up Git locally
Sign up at github.com. Install Git on your machine if you haven't already, then configure your name and email with git config. GitHub's onboarding flow guides you through generating an SSH key or using HTTPS authentication to connect your local environment to your account.
- 2
Create your first repository
Click 'New repository' on your GitHub dashboard. Give it a name, choose public or private, and optionally initialize with a README and a .gitignore file for your language. Clone the repository locally using the URL GitHub provides.
- 3
Make changes and open a pull request
Create a branch with git checkout -b your-branch-name, make your changes, commit them, and push the branch to GitHub. GitHub will detect the new branch and prompt you to open a pull request. Write a description of what changed and why, then request reviewers from your team.
- 4
Set up a GitHub Actions workflow
Create a .github/workflows directory in your repository and add a YAML file defining your workflow. A basic CI setup triggers on pull requests and runs your test suite. GitHub provides starter workflows for common languages and frameworks that you can customize from the Actions tab in your repository.
- 5
Configure branch protection rules
Go to your repository Settings, then Branches, and add a protection rule for your main branch. Require pull request reviews before merging, require status checks to pass, and optionally require the branch to be up to date before merging. This keeps bad code out of your main branch without relying on team discipline alone.
Who is GitHub most useful for?
Software engineers and development teams of any size who need a shared place to store code and coordinate changes. Even solo developers benefit from GitHub for version history, backup, and the ability to open their work to contributors or collaborators. For teams, the pull request workflow brings structure to code review that most alternatives struggle to match.
DevOps and platform engineers setting up automated build and deployment pipelines. GitHub Actions integrates tightly with the code repository itself, meaning your CI/CD configuration lives alongside your code, gets reviewed in PRs, and runs automatically on push or merge. Teams that use Supademo to document internal developer tooling often pair it with GitHub to store and version the configuration files behind those tools.
Open-source maintainers and contributors who need a public-facing home for a project. GitHub's Discussions, Issues, and Sponsor features make it a complete platform for community management, not just code hosting. Engineering managers tracking team output also use GitHub's Insights dashboards to review commit activity, PR cycle times, and contributor patterns without pulling data manually.
GitHub is the dominant platform for code hosting, but several alternatives are worth considering depending on your team's requirements around self-hosting, pricing, or DevOps integration.
Not a code host, but a common GitHub companion for teams who want better issue tracking than GitHub Issues provides. Linear's speed, keyboard-first design, and two-way GitHub sync make it a popular pairing for product and engineering teams.
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Atlassian's project management tool is the enterprise standard for tracking sprints, epics, and releases alongside GitHub repositories. Most teams use the two together rather than replacing one with the other, linking PRs and commits to Jira issues for traceability.
View demo →
The most direct GitHub competitor, with a fully self-hostable Community Edition under an open-source license. Strong CI/CD pipeline builder, built-in container registry, and a single platform for the entire software development lifecycle. Often chosen by security-conscious or regulated organizations.
Strong choice if your team already uses Jira and Confluence, since Bitbucket's Atlassian integrations are tighter than GitHub's. Pipelines is its built-in CI/CD system. Free for small teams but less feature-rich than GitHub at the same price point.
FAQs on GitHub
Commonly asked questions about GitHub. Have more? Reach out and our team will be happy to help.
Is GitHub free?
GitHub is free for individuals and offers unlimited public and private repositories on the free tier with unlimited collaborators. Team plans start at $4/user/month and add protected branches, code owners, and required reviewers. Enterprise plans add SAML SSO, audit logs, and advanced compliance controls.
What is the difference between Git and GitHub?
Git is the open-source version control system that tracks changes to files locally on your machine. GitHub is a cloud platform that hosts Git repositories and adds collaboration features on top: pull requests, issues, Actions, Copilot, and team management. You can use Git without GitHub, but GitHub requires Git.
How does GitHub compare to GitLab?
Both platforms are built around Git repositories and offer CI/CD pipelines, issue tracking, and team collaboration. GitLab is often preferred by teams who want a fully self-hosted DevOps platform under a single license, since GitLab's self-managed Community Edition is open-source. GitHub is stronger on developer ecosystem, integrations, and Copilot. Many enterprise teams end up evaluating both before committing.
What is GitHub Actions?
GitHub Actions is GitHub's built-in CI/CD and workflow automation system. You define workflows as YAML files in a .github/workflows directory. Actions can run tests, build Docker images, deploy to cloud providers, send notifications, or trigger any script on events like push, pull request, or a scheduled cron. It replaces many teams' need for separate tools like Jenkins or CircleCI.
What is GitHub Copilot?
GitHub Copilot is an AI coding assistant that suggests code completions and generates whole functions based on context from your current file and comments. It integrates into VS Code, JetBrains IDEs, and other editors. Individual plans start at $10/month. Business plans add organizational policy controls and audit logs. It draws from OpenAI's Codex model trained on public code.
Can GitHub integrate with project management tools?
Yes. GitHub integrates natively with Jira, Linear, Slack, and many others. You can link commits and pull requests to Jira issues so that merging a PR automatically transitions a ticket. GitHub's own Projects feature also offers a Kanban board built directly on top of issues and PRs without needing a third-party tool.