What is the difference between Git and GitHub?

Git is a version control system (tool). GitHub is a cloud-based hosting service for Git repositories (a platform for collaboration).

Difficulty: 5/10

Topics: Version control, Remote hosting, Collaboration

0-2 years experience

1
If you clone a repository from GitHub to your laptop, which tool actually performs the version‑control operations, and what role does GitHub play in that workflow?
2
Walk me through creating a new branch, committing a change, and pushing it so teammates can see it. Where does Git end and GitHub begin?
3
What happens if you try to push a commit to a GitHub repo but haven’t configured a remote URL yet?

2-5 years experience

1
Your team is choosing between an internal Git server and GitHub Enterprise for a private codebase. What factors would you compare, and how do Git and GitHub differ in capabilities and trade‑offs?
2
During a release a teammate’s push is rejected with a non‑fast‑forward error. Explain why this occurs and how GitHub’s UI can help resolve it.
3
We need a CI pipeline that triggers on pull‑request events. Why does the pipeline interact with GitHub rather than just Git, and what responsibilities belong to each?

5-8 years experience

1
Our monorepo is now 2 TB and clone times from GitHub are slow. Discuss strategies at both the Git level and the GitHub hosting level to mitigate this, including partial clones, shallow clones, and Git LFS.
2
We want to enforce branch‑protection and code‑review policies across dozens of repos. How would you use GitHub features versus pure Git hooks to achieve this at scale?
3
When migrating a legacy SVN repository to Git and hosting it on GitHub, what challenges arise from the differences between Git and GitHub, and how would you handle history rewriting and access control?

8+ years experience

1
Our organization is consolidating multiple GitHub Enterprise instances into a single centralized instance for better governance. Outline the architectural considerations, migration steps, and how you’d manage the distinction between Git data and GitHub metadata.
2
Design a cross‑team workflow that uses Git for source control but also leverages GitHub’s API for automated compliance checks, audit logging, and release management. What are the key boundaries and failure modes?
3
We need to support both GitHub and an internal Git server for external partners while keeping a single source of truth. How would you architect synchronization, handle divergent features like pull‑request metadata, and ensure consistency?

❓Can you describe a case where using only Git without GitHub would be insufficient?
❓What steps would you take if you needed to rewrite history after the repo is already on GitHub?
❓How do security and access‑control considerations differ between a self‑hosted Git server and GitHub?