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Mobius
Intermediate

What is Git

Also known as: version control, git repository, git repo

Definition

Git is free version control software: it saves a version of the code each time a developer commits, so you see who changed what and can go back.

Why it matters

Your code is a business asset, and Git's history is the record of what was built, by whom and when.

Common mistakes

Letting a developer keep the code in a personal account, so the business cannot reach it when the developer leaves.

Related terms

Worked exampleIllustration

One fix to a booking form, from branch to rollback

One commit, its parts marked

  • Commit IDa1b2c3d
  • AuthorThe contractor
  • DateTuesday 14:05
  • MessageFix phone field validation
  • Files changedThe booking form
  • Branchfix-booking-phone

Owned by

The clinic's GitHub organization

Not inside

The database, uploaded files and passwords

Steps

  1. The developer creates a branch named after the change.

  2. The developer commits twice, with messages such as "Fix phone field validation" and "Add confirmation text".

  3. A pull request is opened, and a second person reviews it.

  4. The branch is merged into main, and the site is deployed.

  5. The next day a problem shows up, so the developer reverts that merge and deploys again, and the old form is back.

  6. Decision: The owner, who owns the GitHub organization, sees the whole history and who did what, even after the contractor leaves.

Nothing was lost at any step, and the history stays with the business, not with the developer.

Illustration

How it works

Git. Repository, owned by your businessRepository, owned by your businessmain branchfeature branchcommitmerge
Git records every change as a commit: work happens on a side branch and merges safely back into the main line.

Every saved version, and the way back

  1. The form before the fix
  2. Commit: phone field check, on a branch
  3. Commit: confirmation text, on a branch
  4. Merged into main and deployedhas the bug
  5. The merge reverted, the old form back

Live site works. Reverting the merge adds one more version that undoes it. The old form is back, and the history still shows what happened and who did it.

The history of the booking form fix. Move back and forth: the bug is never permanent, because every version is kept.

Definition

Git is a version control system, one of several, that keeps the full history of a project's code. It records a version, called a commit, each time a developer marks a step as done, and good developers commit many times a day. It records nothing by itself when a file is saved. The history lives in a repository. Work happens on branches, separate lines where a change is built without touching the main code, and a branch is merged back after review, usually through a pull request on a hosting service. Git is free, open source software that runs on the developer's computer. GitHub, GitLab and Bitbucket are separate services that host Git repositories online and add reviews, permissions and team features. Git dates from 2005: Pro Git records that the relationship between the Linux kernel community and the company behind BitKeeper, the tool they used, broke down and its free of charge status was revoked, which led Linus Torvalds and the Linux community to build their own tool.

Why it matters

The owner's question is who holds the repository: the code should live in an organization account the business owns, with developers invited as members, so a contractor who leaves takes nothing with them. GitHub's Free plan, which organizations can use, includes unlimited private repositories and unlimited collaborators, so owning the repository costs nothing. Git also lets a team go back to the last working version quickly when a change breaks something, although the older version still has to be deployed. And Git is not a backup of everything: it holds code, not the database, uploaded files or passwords, which need their own backup.

Directly related: Deployment, Staging, Production.

Improvement tips

  • Keep the code in an organization account the business owns, and invite developers as members.
  • Turn on two step verification for the owner's login to the code hosting service.
  • Remove a contractor's access the day the work ends.
  • Write in the contract that the code and the repository belong to the business.
  • Ask for a simple branch per change, merged after review. Vincent Driessen, author of the popular git-flow model, wrote in 2020 that teams delivering continuously, as most web apps do, should adopt a much simpler workflow.

Common mistakes

  • Committing passwords, API keys or configuration secrets into a repository.
  • Writing vague commit messages such as "fixed stuff", which make the history useless.
  • Treating Git as the backup of everything, while the database and uploaded files have no backup of their own.
  • Working directly on the main branch with no review.

Related terms

TechnologyIntermediate

Deployment

Deployment, or a deploy, is the step where a new version of a site or app goes live: the code is built, tested and moved to a server, with a quick way back.

TechnologyIntermediate

Staging

Staging is a private copy of a website or app, kept as close to the live one as possible, where a change is checked before it reaches customers.

TechnologyIntermediate

Production

Production is the live version of your website or app, the one real customers use with real data. Any fault there costs sales, so it changes only after testing.

TechnologyIntermediate

Technical Debt

Technical debt is the future work created by choosing a quick code solution today over the right one. Unpaid, the interest builds and development slows.

TechnologyBeginner

Vibe Coding

Vibe coding is building software by telling an AI what you want, running what it writes and never reading the code. Great for a prototype, risky with customers.

Quick check

Your contractor is leaving. Which setup means the code stays with you?

Choose an answer

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to understand Git before I start my business?
You do not need to use it, but you need one fact: the code of your site or app lives in a Git repository, and the business should own it. Ask for access to it when you hire a developer.
When does Git first become relevant for a new business?
The moment someone writes custom code for you. Ask for the code to sit in a repository you own from the first day, not to be moved over later.
What does Git cost?
Git itself is free, open source software. GitHub's Free plan, which organizations can use, includes unlimited private repositories and collaborators, and the paid plans add features such as more control over access.
Who should own the account where our code is stored?
The business. Open an organization account, keep yourself as owner with two step verification, and invite developers as members. Code in a developer's personal account is a business risk, because getting it back depends on their goodwill.
Why does Git matter for a business already running?
Developers build new features on branches without touching the live site, and when a change breaks something they can go back to the last working version quickly, then deploy it. The history shows who changed what and when.
What goes wrong when a developer does not use Git?
Changes overwrite each other, nobody knows which version is live, and a crashed laptop can take the only copy of the code with it. Debugging turns into guessing, because there is no record of what changed.
How do I move existing code into Git?
A developer creates a repository from the current code, uploads it to an organization account the business owns, and from then on every change goes through it. The live site keeps running while this happens.
How does Git protect me from depending on one contractor?
If every change is committed and pushed to your repository, a new developer can pick up the full history and carry on. Remove the departing contractor's access the same day.
What does Git actually mean in plain words?
Track changes for code. It saves a version each time the developer marks a step as done, a commit, and lets several people work on the same code without overwriting each other.
Is Git risky or complicated for an owner who is not technical?
You do not need to use it day to day. Your part is ownership: keep the owner login safe with two step verification, and check once in a while that recent work really is in your repository.
Does Git save everything automatically?
No. Git records a version each time a developer commits, which good developers do many times a day. Work that was never committed and pushed is not in the history, and Git does not hold your database or uploaded files.
What is the difference between Git and GitHub?
Git is free software that keeps the history of the code. GitHub is a service of a separate company that hosts Git repositories online and adds reviews, permissions and team features. GitLab and Bitbucket are alternatives to it.

Sources: Scott Chacon and Ben Straub, Pro Git, 2nd edition, including A Short History of Git (git-scm.com/book), read 23 September 2026, GitHub Docs, About organizations (docs.github.com), read 23 September 2026, GitHub, Pricing (github.com/pricing), read 23 September 2026, Vincent Driessen, A successful Git branching model, note of reflection of 5 March 2020 (nvie.com)

Last reviewed: 2026-09-23

I have worked with

What Clients Say

From different fields, at different stages of business

Dan Manto

Eclipse Capital

Real Estate Investment and Finance, USA

Arty McLabin

GameReady

Game Development Education and Outsourcing, International

Anna, Beautician

Anna

Beautician

After I finished a cosmetology course at a leading company, I was confused. I didn't know how to open a business, what to sell from home, or how to bring in clients. Since I reached out to Mobius, everything has changed. We built an organized plan with clear steps and no unnecessary risks. Today I see results, and I'm growing and developing every month.

Mark, Massage therapist, Gan Yavne

Mark

Massage therapist, Gan Yavne

When I finished a massage course, I imagined a different world. I found out it's a hard field, and financial stability isn't easy to find. When I came to Mobius, something changed. We started an organized process and built a business plan. Without Mobius? I probably would have given up. Today I believe in myself and in my own path.

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