Git

Version Control Softwaregit-scm.com

Git is a free, open-source distributed version control system created by Linus Torvalds in 2005, serving software developers globally with no commercial revenue model. It is maintained by a community of contributors under the Software Freedom Conservancy nonprofit and funded by voluntary donations.

Company typePrivate
Founded2005
HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
Headcount11–50
GTM typeB2C
OfferingSoftware

What Git does

Git is a free and open-source distributed version control system created by Linus Torvalds in 2005 to manage source code control for the Linux kernel. Written in C and designed for speed and efficiency, it handles projects ranging from small individual efforts to very large codebases through a distributed architecture in which every working copy contains the full history of all changes, enabling offline operations and distributed collaboration. The core product is the Git command-line engine (latest stable release 2.54.0, dated 2026-04-20), supported by a substantial ecosystem including the Pro Git book (free online, translated into 19 full languages), comprehensive reference documentation, GUI tools (gitk, git-gui), GitWeb web frontend, git-http-backend CGI server, and language bindings (Libgit2 for C, JGit for Java, go-git for Go, Dulwich for Python). Integrations span major IDEs (VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains suite), hosting platforms (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket), and developer tools across the software industry.

The primary user base is software developers globally, with documented secondary adoption by writers and authors using Git for manuscript and book version control, game developers for source and asset management, data scientists for reproducible research workflows, and personal knowledge management users as an offline, vendor-independent alternative to cloud note-taking apps. The project's customer segmentation is horizontal rather than vertical, reflecting Git's role as general-purpose infrastructure rather than a vertical solution.

Git has no commercial revenue model. It is not a corporation, has no venture capital backing, and is not publicly traded. The project is maintained by a global community of contributors coordinated through the [email protected] mailing list, IRC channels on Libera Chat, a Discord server, and the GitHub mirror at github.com/git/git. Git is a member project of Software Freedom Conservancy, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Brooklyn, NY, which accepts donations (PayPal, check, wire transfer, stock) on Git's behalf to cover website hosting costs and travel expenses for the annual GitTogether mini-conference. Sponsorship in kind from FusionAuth, Cloudflare, and Bonsai keeps the git-scm.com website operational. The go-to-market motion is entirely community-led.

Git firmographics

Firmographics

Name: Git
Legal name: Git
Website: https://git-scm.com
Company type: Private
Founded year: 2005
Operating status: Operating
Headcount range: 11–50 employees
Short description: Git is a free, open-source distributed version control system created by Linus Torvalds in 2005, serving software developers globally with no commercial revenue model. It is maintained by a community of contributors under the Software Freedom Conservancy nonprofit and funded by voluntary donations.
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

Git industry classification

Industry

Product category: Version Control Software
NAICS: Software Publishers (513210)
SIC: Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
akta.pro primary industry: Code & Repository Security (Git Security, Code Integrity) (HDADACAG)
akta.pro secondary industry: GitOps & Continuous Delivery Operations (BPAEAKAN)

Keywords

Version control system
Distributed version control
Source code management
Open source software
Developer collaboration tools

Where Git is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city: San Francisco
HQ country: United States
HQ region: North America

Markets served

Git business model

Business model

GTM type: B2C
Offering type: Software
Cost components: Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

Open Source Donation Model: Git is a free and open source project. The project accepts donations through Software Freedom Conservancy, a not-for-profit organization. Donations are used to defray travel costs for developers to attend the annual GitTogether mini-conference and cover Conservancy operating expenses. No commercial revenue model exists.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Git product offering

Product offering

Core offering

Git is a free and open source distributed version control system designed to handle projects of any size with speed and efficiency. Every developer's working copy contains the full change history, enabling full offline operations and distributed collaboration. The core engine is written in C and ships with companion tools including GitWeb (web repository browser) and git-http-backend (HTTP/HTTPS server implementation).

Product overview

Git is a free and open source distributed version control system that forms the core product. The offering includes the Git Core version control engine, the free online Pro Git Book, comprehensive reference documentation, and ecosystem tools including GitWeb (web interface), git-http-backend (HTTP server), GUI tools (gitk, git-gui), and hosting service documentation (GitHub, GitLab). The Git ecosystem also includes tutorials, community resources, and language bindings (Libgit2, JGit, go-git, Dulwich) for embedding Git in applications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

GitHub Repository: The official Git source code repository hosted on GitHub at github.com/git/git
Pro Git Book
Git Rev News

Products and services

Git Core Git is a free and open source distributed version control system designed to handle everything from small to very large projects with speed and efficiency. It is lightning fast and forms the foundation of the Git ecosystem, enabling version tracking, branching, merging, and distributed collaboration for software developers worldwide.
Pro Git Book The complete Pro Git book written by Scott Chacon and Ben Straub, published by Apress, available to read online for free and sold in print via Amazon. Covers topics from getting started to Git internals, with full translations available in 19 languages including Azerbaijani, Bulgarian, German, Spanish, Persian, French, Greek, Japanese, Korean, Dutch, Russian, Slovenian, Serbian, Swedish, Tagalog, Turkish, Ukrainian, and Simplified Chinese.
GitWeb A Perl-based web interface to Git repositories providing features including viewing multiple repositories, browsing revisions, viewing file contents, blame annotations, RSS/Atom feeds, and revision history. Can be configured with Apache, mod_perl, or FastCGI and run via git-instaweb.
git-http-backend Server-side CGI program implementing Git over HTTP (Smart HTTP protocol) for serving Git repositories to clients over HTTP/HTTPS. Supports both fetch and push operations, with configurable authentication and access controls.

Companies that use Git

Customer profile

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Git technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API: No
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

Feature5 records

Git partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

Software Freedom ConservancycoreOthersGit is a member project of Software Freedom Conservancy, a not-for-profit organization that provides financial and administrative assistance to open source projects. Conservancy accepts donations on Git's behalf, including PayPal, check, wire transfer, and stock donations. Donations are used for hosting costs and developer travel to GitTogether conferences. A portion goes to Conservancy operating expenses.
FusionAuthminorOthersFusionAuth provides an annual donation to the Git project that pays for hosting costs of the git-scm.com website.
CloudflareminorOthersCloudflare provides services to help keep the git-scm.com website running, as part of their support for open source projects.
BonsaiminorOthersBonsai provides services to help keep the git-scm.com website running, as part of their support for open source projects.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Git competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Direct peers

Perforce Helix Core: Commercial version control system widely used in enterprise, gaming, and large-scale software projects where Git's performance with large binary files is a limitation. Directly competes for the same developer mindshare in VCS evaluation.
Apache Subversion (SVN): Long-standing centralized version control system and the most direct historical competitor to Git. Both serve the same fundamental use case of source code version control, though Subversion retains a centralized architecture while Git is distributed.
Bazaar: Distributed version control system originally developed by Canonical (Ubuntu sponsor). Offers similar functionality to Git in distributed workflows, though with a different approach to branching and revision history.
Mercurial: Distributed version control system designed contemporaneously with Git as an alternative to BitKeeper for Linux kernel development. Both are distributed VCS with similar feature sets targeting software developers.
Concurrent Versions System (CVS): Legacy centralized version control system that preceded both SVN and Git in widespread adoption. While largely deprecated today, CVS represents the same core VCS use case Git addresses.

Broad incumbents

GitHub: Dominant Git-based code hosting platform (acquired by Microsoft for $7.5B) offering repositories, pull requests, CI/CD, and developer collaboration tools. The largest incumbent riding on top of Git's underlying protocol.
GitLab: Broader DevOps platform built on Git for repository hosting, CI/CD, security scanning, and project management. While not a VCS itself, GitLab is a major incumbent in the Git ecosystem and competes for the developer mindshare that ultimately flows through Git.
Azure DevOps: Microsoft's integrated DevOps platform offering Git repositories alongside boards, pipelines, and testing. Operates as a broad incumbent in the same ecosystem where Git is the underlying VCS layer.
Bitbucket: Atlassian-owned Git and Mercurial hosting platform integrated with Jira and the broader Atlassian developer tooling ecosystem. Another major incumbent in the Git hosting space.

Emerging players

Plastic SCM / Unity Version Control: Commercial VCS with strong support for large binary files and game development workflows. Represents an alternative approach optimized for asset-heavy projects where Git's text-oriented architecture creates friction.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Git financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Git leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Git funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Git M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Git

What does Git do?

Is Git a public or private company?

Git is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.

When was Git founded?

Git was founded in 2005. It employs 11 to 50 people.

Where is Git based?

Git is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.

How does Git make money?

One revenue line is on record: open Source Donation Model.

Who are Git's main competitors?

Direct peers on record are Perforce Helix Core, Apache Subversion (SVN), Bazaar, Mercurial and Concurrent Versions System (CVS). Broad incumbents are GitHub, GitLab, Azure DevOps and Bitbucket. Plastic SCM / Unity Version Control is listed as an emerging player.

Does Git have an API?

No public API is recorded for Git.

What industry is Git in?

Git's product category is Version Control Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDADACAG, Code & Repository Security (Git Security, Code Integrity), with a secondary code of BPAEAKAN, GitOps & Continuous Delivery Operations. Its NAICS code is 513210 and its SIC code is 7372.