By Scott Chacon, GitHub Co-founder
The recent surge in discussions about GitHub’sdominance in the code hosting landscape has sparked a wave of analyses from tech bloggers and industry observers. While insightful, these perspectives often lack the firsthand experience of someone wholived through the journey. As a co-founder of GitHub, I believe it’s crucial to offer my own perspective on why GitHub rose to prominence, correcting someinaccuracies along the way.
My insights stem from being deeply involved in the process, having even authored a book on the subject. Pro Git, my first edition, was published in 2009. This is an insider’sview of why GitHub won.
In a nutshell, the answer boils down to two key factors:
- GitHub’s timing was perfect.
- GitHub had great taste.
Before founding GitHub, my co-founders,Chris and PJ, had attempted to launch FamSpam, while Tom and I had worked on Chatterbug. Both projects, while promising, failed to achieve the same success as GitHub. In my opinion, both projects had good taste and excellent products, but perhaps the timing, location, market, or other factors weren’tquite right.
When GitHub emerged, distributed version control tools like Git were becoming practical, stable, and widely adopted. However, there was no dedicated platform to host them, let alone commercialize them. Large hosting providers dismissed the idea, while smaller players lacked the vision.
Those who eventually took notice, like Sourceforge and Google Code, were too late to the party and lacked the necessary taste. They couldn’t compete with a developer-focused company run by a team of passionate open-source software developers. We cared about the developer experience, innovating and challenging assumptions to build the tools we wanted to use. Others tried to buildproducts they thought would attract advertisers or CTOs. This is why GitHub won.
The Backstory
Let’s rewind the clock to 2005 and examine the software development landscape from a developer’s perspective. Linus had just released the first version of Git. This was a pivotal moment.
The Perfect Timing
The rise of distributed version control systems like Git was a game-changer. Developers embraced its power and flexibility, but there was no central platform to host their projects. This is where GitHub stepped in, providing a user-friendly and efficient solution.
Great Taste
GitHub’ssuccess wasn’t just about timing; it was about understanding the needs of developers. We built a platform that prioritized developer experience, fostering collaboration and innovation. We didn’t chase advertisers or try to please executives; we focused on building tools that developers loved to use.
Conclusion
GitHub’s rise todominance wasn’t a fluke. It was a combination of perfect timing, a deep understanding of developer needs, and a relentless focus on creating a platform that empowered developers. This is a lesson for any startup: identify a need, build a great product, and let the market do its magic.
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