Software Development

What is Version Control?

Quick answer

A system that records changes to files over time so you can review history, collaborate, and restore earlier versions.

Version Control, explained

Version control lets teams work on the same codebase without overwriting each other's changes. Every change is saved as a commit with a description, author, and timestamp. If a new change introduces a bug, developers can see exactly what changed and roll it back.

Modern systems are mostly distributed, with Git the dominant example, meaning every developer has a full copy of the history. Branches let people work on features in isolation and merge them when ready, usually after code review through a pull request. Version control is not just for code: writers, designers, and data teams use it for documents, configuration, infrastructure definitions, and even datasets. It is a foundation of CI/CD and DevOps practices.

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