{"id":837,"date":"2022-09-12T18:32:29","date_gmt":"2022-09-12T18:32:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glossary.dream.press\/glossary\/%group%\/github\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T08:54:07","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T08:54:07","slug":"github","status":"publish","type":"glossary","link":"https:\/\/glossary.dream.press\/glossary\/web-design\/github\/","title":{"rendered":"GitHub"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Using GitHub, multiple developers can work on a single project without overwriting each other’s work or losing any changes. Each project lives in a repository, or repo: the project’s files plus a running record of every committed change. Even beginners can create a repository, edit code, and propose changes back to the original project entirely in the browser.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In any repository you have access to, you can see every commit a developer makes (a commit is a saved change with a short message describing it). Public repositories are visible to everyone; private ones only to invited collaborators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The GitHub workflow, step by step<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

GitHub collaboration follows one repeating cycle: branch, commit, pull request, review, merge. Say you spot a typo in a project’s README file. Here’s how your fix travels:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Flow<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  1. Create or fork the repository. Forking copies someone else’s project into your account so you can work on it freely.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Create a branch. Your edits stay separate from the live code while you work.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Commit your change with a message describing it, such as “Fix typo in README.”<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Open a pull request. This asks the project’s maintainers to review your work and shows them exactly what changed, line by line.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. A maintainer reviews and merges it. If your change is accepted, it lands in the repository’s default branch. GitHub names that branch main<\/a> in new repositories unless the owner or organization sets a different name; older projects may still use master.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Every one of those steps works in GitHub’s web interface. One caveat once you start working on files locally: GitHub only records what you commit. Edits you haven’t committed aren’t part of the repository’s history, and commits made on your own computer don’t appear on GitHub until you push them. Our guide to 21 must-know Git commands<\/a> covers commit, push, and the rest of the command-line side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Git vs. GitHub<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Git and GitHub aren’t the same thing, and the difference decides what you need to install and pay for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n