ALT How Git Came to be Back in the day, Linux used Linus Torvalds as a one man version control system. He personally edited files to avoid conflicts. There simply weren't any open source version control systems at the time. Eventually Linus strikes a deal with the private version control system BitKeeper . Bitkeeper is normally a paid product, but Linux gets a special deal. The deal is simple, the Linux community could use Bitkeeper for free in exchange for some metadata and an agreement for Linux contributors not to work on competing version control systems. This system works well for years. Eventually however, Bitkeeper informs Linus, just as Linus is getting on a plane for the weekend the the Linux Kernel Development will have to pay to use Bitkeeper. Less than 4 days after this phone call git was born. Written exclusively by Linus for version 1, this tool upended the business model for BitKeeper. Git was an entirely different approach to version management on the scene at the t