Torvalds: the initial Git version-control system

What changed

Large-project source histories could be managed in a fast distributed model.

Scientific scope

Torvalds' initial 2005 system and design; later community features and long-term maintenance excluded.

Evidence

The linked sources identify this contribution and its scope. WRS has not independently reconstructed the scientific claims. The record concerns Torvalds’ initial 2005 system and design. Git rapidly became a collective project; Junio Hamano’s long-term maintenance and the work of many contributors are separate and not assigned to the initiating author.

Contributors

• Linus Torvalds · SCIENCE: Named source author of the scoped work; individual effort shares are not measured.

• Git: A Short History of Git
• Git user manual: understanding history and commits

Provisional WRS assessment, edition 2026-10-16.1. Independent expert calibration is pending. This grade does not certify correctness or assign ownership.

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