GitHub Looks To Enterprise With Windows Support

GitHub has announced the release of GitHub for Windows, which the company says is the easiest way to use the Git revision control system on Windows.

GitHub is a web-based hosting service for software development projects that use the Git revision control system. GitHub offers both commercial plans and free accounts for open-source projects.

According to the Git User’s Survey in 2009, GitHub is the most popular Git hosting site. GitHub for Windows is available immediately as a free download.

Big release

GitHub said the release is a big deal for those wanting to develop and collaborate on Windows projects, as the majority of all enterprise development takes place within a Windows environment.

In a 21 May blog post, Tim Clem, a developer at GitHub, said, “GitHub for Windows is a 100 percent native application that will run on Windows XP, Vista, 7 and even the pre-release Windows 8. Included in the application is a complete installation of msysGit making this the single best way to start using Git on Windows.”

Up to now, developers had to use one of many Git clients for Windows to effectively use Git on Windows, as developers say Git works better on Linux and Mac OS.

Windows-based Git clients included Git for Windows, TortoiseGit, SmartGit and others. However, GitHub for Windows adds the rich GitHub environment – being a collaborative place to share code with friends, co-workers, classmates and complete strangers on all platforms, the company says.

Repository management

“GitHub for Windows is the easiest way to manage your repositories on GitHub.com,” Clem said. “Clone your repositories right from the app or clone directly from GitHub.com with the new Clone in Windows button.”

GitHub for Windows is supported for all GitHub Enterprise installations running release 11.10.260 or higher, Clem said.

Originally founded by Tom Preston-Werner, Chris Wanstrath, and PJ Hyett, GitHub has grown into one of the largest code hosts in the world.

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