Git is a distributed revision control

Distributed revision control

A distributed revision control system , distributed version control or decentralized version control keeps track of software revisions and allows many developers to work on a given project without necessarily being connected to a common network.-Distributed vs...

 system with an emphasis on speed. Git was initially designed and developed by Linus Torvalds

Linus Torvalds

Linus Benedict Torvalds is a Finnish software engineer and hacker, best known for having initiated the development of the open source Linux kernel. He later became the chief architect of the Linux kernel, and now acts as the project's coordinator...

 for Linux kernel

Linux kernel

The Linux kernel is an operating system kernel used by the Linux family of Unix-like operating systems. It is one of the most prominent examples of free and open source software....

 development. Every Git working directory

Working directory

In computing, the working directory of a process is a directory of a hierarchical file system, if any, dynamically associated with each process. When the process refers to a file using a simple file name or relative path , the reference is interpreted relative to the current working directory of...

 is a full-fledged repository

Repository (version control)

A Repository is a concept from distributed revision control that refers to a data structure, usually stored on a server, that contains, among other things:* A set of files and directories.* Historical record of changes in the repository....

 with complete history and full revision tracking capabilities, not dependent on network access or a central server. Git's current software maintenance

Software maintenance

Software Maintenance in software engineering is the modification of a software product after delivery to correct faults, to improve performance or other attributes....

 is overseen by Junio Hamano. Git is free software

Free software

Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...

 distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License

GNU General Public License

The GNU General Public License is the most widely used free software license, originally written by Richard Stallman for the GNU Project....

 version 2.
Linus Torvalds has quipped about the name "git", which is British English

British English

British English, or English , is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom from forms used elsewhere...

 slang for a stupid or unpleasant person: "I'm an egotistical bastard, and I name all my projects after myself.