Can GitHub for Windows be used locally?

Question

I decided that I need some sort of Revision Control Software for my coding purposes, so I installed GitHub for Windows.

Problem is after I add a repository, copy source code in that folder and then click on commit it wants to commit to GitHub web site and is asking me to provide name and email.

Since my intention for using git is only to have revision control for myself and not to collaborate with other developers, I want to host repositories locally on my computer.

Is hosting locally possible and can I do it with GitHub for Windows?

Gertrudegertrudis

Answer 1

I am using GitHub for Windows locally, so yes, it is possible. However, if you want to push your code you will have to push it to the GitHub website.

What I do is to have my repository on a Dropbox account, so that it is still online, but also private. (As opposed to free GitHub accounts that make your code public). If you are working on your code alone, this should be fine for you, if you just commit to the "local" Dropbox repository.

Also see this question, which helped me when I started this process.

Oaks

bitbucket.org has unlimited private repos which you can share with up to five users before you need to buy an upgrade. Also SourceTree is free git or mercurial UI you can use with local or remote (https/ssh). – Gross

I love bitbucket.org. Limiting number of users is more reasonable than limiting the private repos of a single user. Hope that GitHub will change their model in the future. – Recreant

Answer 2

Another option when using git locally (so no"GitHub for Windows"), while wanting to benefit from some of the GitHub features (wiki, administration, browsing, ...), is to install GitLab.
Sure it can be used by several people, which is not your case, but it also great for solo development.

You can even record your issues on it:

Josuejosy

Looks very promising, but as of this comment writing the available community installs on the GitLab site do not include windows as far as I can find. – Decrial

Answer 3

If you only want it local, you don't want to use GitHub.

You want to use git only.

Get msysgit, found at code.google.com/p/msysgit/.

Of course, it means that only git features are available, and github features are not.

Note: all github features are found on the github website, and apart from the social features (issue tracker, wiki), includes the graphs of commit activity, code size increases/decreases, network graph.

Having said that, substitutes for the network graph on GitHub include gitk, and others.

Pinnacle

If you want a nice visual environment, kind of like github, you can give GitLab a look. – Unpolitic

@arkottke again moved, this time here: git-for-windows.github.io – Mousetrap

Answer 4

Answer: You may want to try TortoiseGit and work with local repositories. In git, you can create a "bare" repository as your main repository locally in an empty folder. This is very easy with TortoiseGit (context menu item).

(Comment: I think you are confusing GitHub [the service] with git [the application].)

Curriery