How to Download and Install Git Free Guide

Is Git Free?

Git is the version control system itself — a command-line tool. Platforms like GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket are where you host Git repositories online, and they have their own pricing tiers. You do not need any of them to use Git locally.

System Requirements

Requirements below reflect the current Git for Windows 2.56.x (released September–October 2026).

• OS: Windows 10 or later (64-bit x64 or ARM64). Windows 8.1 support ended with Git for Windows v2.55; Windows 7/8 are no longer supported by current releases.
• Architecture: 64-bit required — the installer is now a 64-bit x64 executable. A separate ARM64 build is available for Windows on ARM devices.
• RAM: ~512 MB minimum; Git itself is very lightweight. 2 GB+ is comfortable if you run Git alongside code editors and IDEs.
• Storage: ~260 MB for the installation, plus space for your repositories and their history.
• Note: Git is completely free (GPLv2). No account is needed to install or use it — a GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket account is only required to host repositories remotely.

How to Install Git

1. Go to the official site. Visit git-scm.com/download/win. This is the official Git for Windows project — avoid third-party "Git download" sites.
2. Download the installer. The download starts automatically. Choose the 64-bit Git for Windows Setup for modern PCs (there is also a portable version if you cannot install software, and an ARM64 build for Windows on ARM).
3. Run the installer. Open the downloaded file and click through the setup wizard. Default options are fine for most users — leave the editor, PATH, and line-ending settings as they are unless you have a specific reason to change them.
4. Launch Git Bash. After installation, open Git Bash from your Start menu. This gives you a Unix-style terminal where Git commands work exactly as they do in documentation and tutorials.

Getting Started

1. Verify the installation. In Git Bash, run git --version. You should see the version number — if the command is not recognised, Git was not added to your PATH.
2. Set your identity. Git stamps every commit with a name and email. Run git config --global user.name "Your Name" and git config --global user.email "[email protected]". You only need to do this once per computer.
3. Create or clone a repository. To start a new project from scratch, run git init inside a folder. To download an existing project, run git clone https://github.com/user/repo.git.
4. Check what changed. Run git status at any time to see which files are modified, staged, or untracked. This is the command you will run most often.
5. Stage and commit. Use git add filename (or git add . for everything) to stage changes, then git commit -m "Describe your change" to save a permanent snapshot.
6. Push to a remote. If you cloned from GitHub or another host, run git push origin main. If you created the repo locally and your default branch is still master, rename it first with git branch -M main, then add a remote with git remote add origin <url> and push.

Useful Tips

• 🐚 Use Git Bash, not Command Prompt. Git Bash ships with Git for Windows and gives you a Unix-style shell where all standard Git documentation works without translation. It also includes common Unix tools like ls, grep, and ssh.
• 📋 Run git status before every commit. It tells you exactly what is staged, modified, and untracked — the single best habit for avoiding accidental commits.
• ⏪ Use git reflog to recover lost commits. If you accidentally reset a branch or delete a commit, git reflog shows the history of where HEAD has been, and you can reset back to the lost commit.
• 🚫 Create a .gitignore file early. List build artefacts, dependency folders (node_modules/), secrets, and OS files you never want tracked. Once something is committed, ignoring it later does not remove it from history.
• 🔄 Pull before you push on shared branches. Running git pull before git push avoids the most common "non-fast-forward" rejection when someone else has pushed in the meantime.
• ✏️ Set a familiar editor. The installer defaults to Vim, which confuses many beginners. Choose VS Code or Nano during setup, or change it later with git config --global core.editor "code --wait".
• 🔐 Use a credential manager. Git for Windows includes Git Credential Manager, which handles GitHub/GitLab authentication and tokens securely. Accept it during installation so you are not re-entering passwords constantly.
• ⚡ Create aliases for common commands. For example, git config --global alias.st status lets you type git st instead of git status.
• 🪟 Check your version. The current release is Git for Windows 2.56.0 (September 2026). Run git --version periodically and update if you are on an older 2.x build — newer versions include security and compatibility fixes.

Git vs GitHub vs GitLab vs Bitbucket

These are frequently confused, and the distinction matters:

• Git: The version control system itself. Runs locally on your computer, requires no internet connection, and is free under the GPLv2. Everything else in this list is a hosting service for Git repositories.
• GitHub: The most popular Git hosting platform, owned by Microsoft. The free tier includes unlimited public and private repositories, unlimited collaborators, 2,000 CI/CD minutes per month, and 500 MB of Packages storage. Best for open source, personal projects, and integration with tools like VS Code, Cursor, and GitHub Actions.
• GitLab: Git hosting with a stronger emphasis on DevOps and self-hosting. The free tier includes 400 compute minutes per month, 10 GiB storage, and up to 5 users. Can be self-hosted on your own server. Best for teams that want full control over the hosting environment or need bundled CI/CD and container registry.
• Bitbucket: Atlassian's Git hosting, tightly integrated with Jira and Confluence. The free plan supports up to 5 users, unlimited private repositories, 50 build minutes per month, and 1 GB storage. Best for small teams already using Atlassian's suite.

You need Git installed regardless of which host you choose. For most individuals and open-source projects, GitHub is the natural default — its free CI/CD allowance is the most generous of the three. GitLab is preferred for self-hosting and DevOps-heavy workflows, though its free compute minutes are far lower than GitHub's. Bitbucket is the right choice if you already use Jira and Confluence.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

• ❌ "git is not recognized" after installation. Git was not added to your PATH. Re-run the installer and choose "Use Git from the Windows Command Prompt" on the PATH selection screen, or add C:\Program Files\Git\cmd to your PATH manually.
• 🔒 "Permission denied (publickey)" on push. Your SSH key is missing or not configured. Either use HTTPS URLs (with Git Credential Manager handling tokens) or set up an SSH key with ssh-keygen and add it to your GitHub/GitLab account.
• ⚠️ Accidentally committed a large file or secret. Git history cannot be easily "un-committed" if you have pushed. Use git filter-repo (or BFG Repo-Cleaner) to rewrite history, then force-push. For secrets specifically, rotate the credential immediately — treat it as compromised the moment it was committed.
• 🔀 "Fatal: refusing to merge unrelated histories." Usually happens when merging a repository that has no shared history with the current one. Run git pull origin main --allow-unrelated-histories to override — but only if you are sure both repositories should be combined.
• 📁 Files show as modified but you didn't change them. Often a line-ending issue. On Windows, run git config --global core.autocrlf true to handle CRLF/LF conversion automatically.
• 🔑 Cannot clone a private repository. Confirm you are authenticated. Git Credential Manager should prompt for a login on first clone; if it does not, run git config --global credential.helper manager to re-enable it.
• 🪟 Installer won't run on Windows 8.1 or earlier. Current Git for Windows releases (v2.56+) require Windows 10 or later. Windows 8.1 support ended with v2.55. Use an older, unsupported build at your own risk, or upgrade Windows.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Git the same as GitHub?

Do I need to use the command line to use Git?

What are the minimum system requirements for Git?

Can I use Git without GitHub?

What are the most important Git commands to learn first?

Does Git work on Mac and Linux?