Git turns 20 as we celebrate decades of open-source software distribution

(Image credit: Shutterstock, Git)

If you've ever used Linux software before, odds are you've come across Git. Over the years, this system has become a staple for delivering open-source tools and applications to PCs across the world. Today, April 7th, 2025, Git turns 20 years old. It was created in just a few days by Linus Torvalds and developer Junio Hamano. The official announcement came out on April 6th, 2005, and it was launched to the public the very next day.

One of the most unique aspects of Git's design is that it does not rely on a centralized server to operate, but rather is regarded as a "distributed control system." It's compatible with a variety of operating systems, including (of course) Linux, but also Windows, Android, Solaris, and many more.

You might be wondering where Git gets its name. At the very least, we were for sure. As it turns out, it has nothing to do with its similarity to the word "get" although that does help commit it to memory for new users. According to Linus on the official Git FAQ page, the project was named after himself. It's derived from the British slang term "git," which refers to someone who "thinks they are always correct" and is "argumentative."

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Ash Hill is a contributing writer for Tom's Hardware with a wealth of experience in the hobby electronics, 3D printing and PCs. She manages the Pi projects of the month and much of our daily Raspberry Pi reporting while also finding the best coupons and deals on all tech.

2 Comments Comment from the forums

bit_user

The article said:
If you've ever used Linux software before, odds are you've come across Git.
It's getting a lot less common that people need to checkout & build code they want to run, which is probably the way some regular users might interact with it. The rest of its users are developers, and its use spans all platforms. Microsoft embraced it some time ago, as well as buying the popular github online platform that's built around the tool.
https://www.tomshardware.com/news/microsoft-acquire-github-7-billion,37177.html
The article said:
Over the years, this system has become a staple for delivering open-source tools and applications to PCs across the world.
That's an odd way to put it, because git doesn't really solve the distribution problem. It's a source control system, which roughly equates to software maintenance. Things like: change-tracking, conflict detection, branching, merging, and holding associated metadata.

The article said:
One of the most unique aspects of Git's design is that it does not rely on a centralized server to operate
Linus also likened its design to that of a filesystem.

The article said:
but rather is regarded as a "distributed control system."
The first line of the FAQ you linked starts:
"Git is a distributed version control system ..."Version is a key word, as it's fundamental to source control.
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ThereAndBackAgain

bit_user said:
It's getting a lot less common that people need to checkout & build code they want to run, which is probably the way some regular users might interact with it. The rest of its users are developers, and its use spans all platforms. Microsoft embraced it some time ago, as well as buying the popular github online platform that's built around the tool.
https://www.tomshardware.com/news/microsoft-acquire-github-7-billion,37177.html
That's an odd way to put it, because git doesn't really solve the distribution problem. It's a source control system, which roughly equates to software maintenance. Things like: change-tracking, conflict detection, branching, merging, and holding associated metadata.

Linus also likened its design to that of a filesystem.

The first line of the FAQ you linked starts:
"Git is a distributed version control system ..."Version is a key word, as it's fundamental to source control.
Yeah, Git was framed in a confusing way in this article. Like you said, it's not a software distribution tool, it's for managing code; it just happens that there are some open source projects that don't publish pre-built executables or DLLs, so you might have to clone them via Git and then build them yourself. But even then, it's not Git that's doing the distribution, it's whatever server (typically Github) that the code is hosted on.
Reply