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You've got a question about git. Its not uncommon, lots of people have questions about git. But where should the question be asked?

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Question is about git the tool

If you are asking how specific invocations of git such as:

These are questions for Stack Overflow. The key point here is you are asking for something to type into the command line to do something.

Question is about git the workflow

If you are trying to figure out how to use git to do something, understanding the conceptual foundations of git, or how to identify and overcome a problem that you have with the workflow... Questions such as:

These are questions for Softwareengineering.SE. The key point here is the use of the tool in a bigger picture. It is not one task that the question asks about but the entire workflow.

Question is about github the site

There are also questions that are tangentially about git, but are really about github, the website. Questions such as:

These are questions for Webapps.SE. The key point here is if you are trying to figure out how to get something to work with github. This is about specifically github and not about setting up your own git server (thats most likely a Stack Overflow question in the git-daemon tag).

Question is looking for a git client

If you are trying to find a git client that fits some set of features look at the Software Recommendations.SE site.

As of this writing, this site is still quite young. There are very specific requirements to what you need for asking a good question on the site. However, if you are trying to decide which tool to use and neither GUI clients from git nor your current IDE's git integration work, this would likely be the best choice.

If you have questions about any of the above, feel free to drop into chat and ask the question about which Stack Exchange site a question best belongs on.

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    I expected an answer like git away
    – gnat
    Nov 30, 2013 at 10:22
  • Where do questions like "how to learn C++" fit?
    – שינתיא אבישגנת
    Dec 1, 2013 at 23:27
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    @BlessedGeek "how to learn XYZ" questions are typically too broad for any Stack Exchange site. There are textbooks upon textbooks covering the area and then you get into the sub realms of programming languages (embedded vs game vs enterprise). Stack exchange works best when there is a single problem that can be solved in a few paragraphs. If you can imagine an entire book on the subject, its probably too broad.
    – user40980
    Dec 1, 2013 at 23:47
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    @BlessedGeek: That's answered in the tag wiki.
    – Martin Schröder
    Dec 13, 2013 at 10:28
  • The point about GitHub here is a little off. Firstly, although it's a little controversial, there are many people, me included, who argue that GitHub questions are generally on-topic on Stack Overflow. Secondly, and importantly, not all GitHub questions are on-topic on Web Applications. GitHub, like many online tools for programmers, is made up of both a web application and a set of desktop apps and programming tools (hub, the SDKs, the desktop clients). Questions about any of the latter are GitHub questions but are off-topic on WebApps.
    – Mark Amery
    Feb 9, 2016 at 22:03
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    @MarkAmery StackOverflow is inconsistent on its treatment of GitHub questions. Many that deal with non-programming aspects of the site get closed there rather quickly (and ultimately deleted). The questions there are the ones that have still survived. As a static "ask GitHub questions on SO" I feel I would be wrong the vast majority of the time. In particular, none of the questions I link to on WebApps would be on topic on SO. By no means are all questions about some topic on topic on a given SE site. Note that I link to the Webapps help center to help refine this.
    – user40980
    Feb 9, 2016 at 22:09
  • I agree with most of your comment, but personally I would be fine with any of the linked WebApps questions being asked on Stack Overflow, and would vote to reopen or undelete them if they were closed or deleted. Exactly as you say, SO is hugely inconsistent on what to do about GitHub questions; different Meta questions at different times have reached different consensuses, and there's no official line from any mods or staff. I have my view; other people have very different ones.
    – Mark Amery
    Feb 9, 2016 at 22:12
  • @MarkAmery I have very little influence upon Stack Overflow's scope. For users with a question about GitHub, 95% of the time, it is probably a WebApps question. In the 5% of the time it isn't, its a toss up if it will get closed on Stack Overflow or not. I will not recommend a user to post a question on a site where I am fairly certain it will get closed or result in various meta drama. So far, the questions have migrated to WebApps for github have all been well received there.
    – user40980
    Feb 9, 2016 at 22:23
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    So no Git Questions belong on Software Engineering Stack Exchange? Contradicting this sibling Question?
    – Basil Bourque
    Sep 30, 2017 at 14:43
  • @BasilBourque It turns out Programmers.se = Software Engineering Stack Exchange, so that is not the case. But I was confused at first too.
    – Grzegorz Oledzki
    Dec 13, 2018 at 19:33
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    Can someone with enough reputation edit "Programmers.SE" in the answer?
    – Grzegorz Oledzki
    Dec 13, 2018 at 19:33

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