Answer
Overview
Git is a distributed version control system. GitHub is a web-based hosting platform for Git repositories. Think of Git as the tool and GitHub as the service that uses the tool.
Key Differences
| Feature | Git | GitHub |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Software (CLI tool) | Website / Platform |
| Purpose | Track code changes | Host and collaborate on Git repos |
| Works offline | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (requires internet) |
| Installation | Install on your machine | Use via browser or API |
| Owner | Open source (Linux Foundation) | Microsoft (acquired 2018) |
| Storage | Local machine | Cloud (remote) |
Git — Local Version Control
bash# Git is used locally on your machine git init # Create a new local repo git add . # Stage changes git commit -m "Add login" # Save snapshot locally git branch feature/auth # Create branch git merge feature/auth # Merge branch git log # View commit history
All of this works without GitHub — purely on your local machine.
GitHub — Remote Hosting + Collaboration
GitHub adds on top of Git:
bash# Push local repo to GitHub git remote add origin https://github.com/user/repo.git git push origin main # Pull latest changes from GitHub git pull origin main # Clone a GitHub repo git clone https://github.com/flutter/flutter.git
GitHub-specific Features
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Pull Requests | Code review before merging |
| Issues | Bug tracking and feature requests |
| GitHub Actions | CI/CD automation |
| GitHub Pages | Host static websites |
| Discussions | Team/community discussions |
| Code review | Inline comments on PRs |
| GitHub Copilot | AI coding assistant |
| Forks | Copy someone else's repo |
| Stars | Bookmark repos |
Alternatives to GitHub
| Platform | Description |
|---|---|
| GitLab | GitHub alternative with built-in CI/CD, can self-host |
| Bitbucket | Atlassian's platform, integrates with Jira |
| Azure DevOps | Microsoft's enterprise platform |
| Gitea | Self-hosted, lightweight |
The Full Workflow
textLocal Machine (Git) GitHub (Remote) ───────────────── ────────────────── git init git add + git commit ──push──▶ Remote repository ◀─pull── (shared with team) git branch ──PR───▶ Pull Request → Review git merge ◀───── Merge on GitHub
One-line summary: Git is the tool you install on your computer to track changes. GitHub is the website where you store and share your Git repositories with your team.