GitHub

GitHub
GitHub · CC BY 4.0 · source
Name	GitHub
Type	Subsidiary
Industry	Software development hosting
Founded	2008
Founders	Tom Preston-Werner, Chris Wanstrath, PJ Hyett, Scott Chacon
Headquarters	San Francisco, California
Parent	Microsoft

GitHub GitHub is a web-based platform for software version control and collaboration built around Git (software), used by developers, organizations, and projects worldwide including enterprises like Microsoft, foundations like the Linux Foundation, academic projects at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and large open-source initiatives such as Linux kernel, TensorFlow, and Kubernetes. It provides repository hosting, collaboration tools, and workflow automation adopted by communities around projects like Mozilla Firefox, Node.js, React (web framework), and corporations such as Facebook, Google, and Amazon (company). GitHub's ecosystem connects contributors from initiatives like Debian, Apache Software Foundation, and Python (programming language) to continuous integration services, package registries, and deployment systems used in infrastructure projects like OpenStack, Docker (software), and Jenkins (software).

History

GitHub was founded in 2008 by developers including Tom Preston-Werner, Chris Wanstrath, PJ Hyett, and Scott Chacon amid a rise in distributed version control following projects like Linux kernel's adoption of distributed workflows and tools such as Git (software), Subversion, and Mercurial. Early growth tied GitHub to high-profile repositories from organizations including Ruby (programming language), Rails (web framework), jQuery, and contributors from companies like Twitter, GitLab, and Heroku (company). Over time GitHub hosted major public efforts such as the mirror of Wikipedia dumps, collaborations with research institutions like Stanford University, and code for scientific libraries including NumPy, SciPy, and Pandas (software). In 2018 Microsoft acquired the company, joining corporate actors such as IBM, Oracle Corporation, and Red Hat in shaping enterprise source code hosting and policy debates involving regulators like the European Commission and lawmakers in United States jurisdictions.

Features and Services

GitHub offers pull requests, issue tracking, code review, and project boards used by teams at Spotify, Netflix, Uber Technologies, and Airbnb (company), along with continuous integration and continuous delivery through integrations with Travis CI, CircleCI, and Jenkins (software). It hosts package registries for ecosystems like npm, PyPI, Maven (software), and supports actions and workflows inspired by platforms such as Azure DevOps and GitLab CI/CD. GitHub Pages serves static sites for projects including documentation for Django (web framework), Flask (web framework), and academic pages tied to Harvard University and University of California, Berkeley. Code search, dependency scanning, code spaces, and secret scanning intersect with tools from Snyk, Dependabot, and security suites used by Cisco Systems and Fortinet.

Business Model and Ownership

GitHub operates a freemium model with free public repositories for communities like OpenStreetMap and paid enterprise offerings used by NASA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Bank of America, and Goldman Sachs. Revenue streams include GitHub Enterprise, GitHub Marketplace, and licenses similar to models from Atlassian, GitLab, and Slack Technologies. The 2018 acquisition by Microsoft placed GitHub alongside subsidiaries such as LinkedIn and services like Azure; this prompted scrutiny from antitrust observers including the Federal Trade Commission and discussions among stakeholders like Mozilla Foundation and prominent maintainers of Linux kernel and OpenSSL.

Technology and Architecture

Built around Git (software), GitHub combines back-end components influenced by architectures used at Facebook, Google, and Amazon (company), employing languages and frameworks such as Ruby (programming language), Go (programming language), and databases and storage solutions comparable to PostgreSQL, Redis, and distributed file stores like those used by Dropbox. Features such as Git Large File Storage draw on large-object strategies seen in systems at YouTube, Netflix, and Dropbox (company). Scalability strategies reflect lessons from projects like Kubernetes orchestration, Docker (software) containers, and service meshes used by Twitter and Uber Technologies.

Community and Ecosystem

The platform hosts millions of repositories contributed to by developers from organizations and projects such as Linux kernel, Apache Software Foundation, Mozilla Foundation, Wikimedia Foundation, WordPress, Drupal, and academic labs at MIT and Stanford University. Community features enable collaboration among users associated with events like Hacktoberfest, conferences including Open Source Summit, and foundations such as The Apache Software Foundation and The Linux Foundation. Contributions intersect with package ecosystems like npm, RubyGems, CPAN, and standards bodies such as W3C and IETF, facilitating research outputs from institutions like CERN, National Institute of Standards and Technology, and European Organization for Nuclear Research.

Security and Privacy

Security practices incorporate automated code scanning, secret detection, and vulnerability alerts similar to offerings from Snyk, Qualys, and Nessus, while coordinating disclosure with organizations like CERT Coordination Center and standards from ISO and NIST. Privacy considerations relate to policies enforced by regulators such as the European Commission and data protection frameworks like General Data Protection Regulation with enterprise customers including Goldman Sachs and public agencies such as United States Department of Defense evaluating compliance. Incident responses have involved coordination with projects including OpenSSL and advisories from vendors like Red Hat and Canonical (company).

Category:Software hosting services