Git
A distributed version-control system.
Commits, branches, merges and rebases track history locally and sync with remotes.
Cloud & DevOps
What is the difference among Git, GitHub and GitHub Actions?
Git is the version-control tool on your machine, GitHub hosts Git repositories with collaboration features, and GitHub Actions runs automated workflows (CI/CD) on GitHub events.
- Technologies
- 3
- Difference questions
- 50
What each one is
GitHub
A hosting platform for Git repositories.
Pull requests, reviews, issues, permissions and project tools around your repositories.
GitHub Actions
GitHub's automation and CI/CD service.
YAML workflows run jobs on runners when you push, open a PR, on a schedule or manually.
At a glance
| Aspect | Git | GitHub | GitHub Actions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kind | Tool | Platform | Automation service |
| Runs | On your machine | In the cloud | On hosted or self-hosted runners |
| Key objects | Commits, branches | Repos, pull requests | Workflows, jobs, steps |
| Works offline | Yes | No | No |
| Use for | Tracking changes | Collaboration | Testing and deploying automatically |
The 10 most-asked difference questions
Subjective questions 10
1What is the core difference between Git, GitHub and GitHub Actions?Asked almost every time
Git is a distributed version-control tool that tracks history on your machine. GitHub is a cloud platform that hosts Git repositories and adds pull requests, reviews, issues and permissions. GitHub Actions is GitHub's automation service that runs YAML workflows on runners when events like a push or pull request happen.
2Can you use Git without GitHub?Asked almost every time
Yes. Git works fully on its own: you can commit, branch, merge and view history locally with no network. You can also sync with other remotes such as GitLab, Bitbucket, Azure Repos or a plain server over SSH. GitHub is only one hosting option.
3Is GitHub just Git in the cloud?Asked almost every time
No. GitHub stores Git repositories, but most of its value sits outside Git itself. Pull requests, code review, issues, Projects, rulesets, Actions, Dependabot and access control are GitHub features. Git has no concept of a pull request or an issue.
4What is GitHub Actions used for, in simple terms?Asked almost every time
It automates work that should happen when something changes in a repository. Common uses are running tests on every pull request, building and publishing artifacts, deploying to staging or production, and scheduled jobs like nightly scans. Workflows live in .github/workflows as YAML files.
5Which of the three works offline, and why?Asked almost every time
Only Git works offline, because every clone holds the full history and runs locally. GitHub is a hosted service, so browsing PRs or issues needs a network. GitHub Actions runs on remote or self-hosted runners triggered by GitHub events, so it also needs GitHub to be reachable.
6A small team wants tests to run automatically on every pull request. Which would you pick and why?Asked almost every time
Use Git for local commits, GitHub to host the repo and open pull requests, and GitHub Actions to run tests on the pull_request event. Then make the test check required through a branch protection rule or ruleset. This blocks merging until tests pass without any extra CI server.
7What is the difference between a Git branch and a GitHub pull request?Asked almost every time
A branch is a Git object: a movable pointer to a commit that exists locally and on remotes. A pull request is a GitHub feature that proposes merging one branch into another and adds discussion, reviews, status checks and a merge button. Deleting a PR does not delete the branch.
8Where does a GitHub Actions job actually run?Very often asked
On a runner. GitHub-hosted runners are fresh virtual machines on Linux, Windows or macOS that are discarded after the job. Self-hosted runners are machines you manage, on-premises or in your cloud, which run the runner application and pick up jobs from GitHub.
9When would you choose self-hosted runners over GitHub-hosted runners?Very often asked
Choose self-hosted when jobs need private network access, special hardware like GPUs, large caches, or specific OS images, or when high usage makes your own machines cheaper. The trade-off is that you patch, scale and secure them yourself. Avoid self-hosted runners on public repos, since fork PRs could run untrusted code.
10How is GitHub Actions billed?Very often asked
Standard GitHub-hosted runners are free for public repositories. Private repositories get a monthly quota of included minutes and storage that depends on the plan, and extra usage is billed per minute, with higher rates for larger, Windows and macOS runners. GitHub has revised pricing recently, so always check the current billing docs.
Practise every comparison in your dashboard.
Start learning