Frequently Asked Questions

• Q: Isn't git already decentralized / distributed?
  • A: Yes it is! But not all decentralization is created equal. You've likely heard the saying that the cloud is just other people's computers? Well, it's even worse than that typically. It's one company's computers (e.g. AWS, GitHub, Dropbox, etc.). dgit's backend systems are or soon will be truly running (securely) on other people's computers and optionally on yours too. It's decentralized like Bitcoin (but more efficiently and not trying to replace global finance).
• Q: You say dgit creates "decentralized git remotes." What does that mean exactly?
  • A: While git was designed from day one to use any number of remotes and treats them all equally (i.e. "origin" is just a convention; it's not a special remote), 99% of the time git users are pushing and pulling from the same one or two remotes. Often this is a GitHub "origin" and maybe another GitHub "fork" or similar. But even in the case of multiple remotes, those that use the https, ssh, or git protocols refer to remotes as specific systems owned by specific individuals or companies. Not dgit. A dgit remote points instead to one or more collective networks for decentralized trust and storage. You can (or soon will be able to) join those networks and help facilitate the backend infrastructure dgit relies on. Or you could run your own private network if you preferred.
• Q: Why should I prefer dgit remotes over traditional git remotes?
  • A: This question has many answers for many different people. For some, decentralization is a goal in and of itself. A sort of return to first principles that made the Internet compelling in the first place. For others, it has to do with more pragmatic concerns like not interrupting their workflows when one company's systems go down. Others have concerns about how much trust they put in one company to treat them and their data fairly through changes in ownership, business model, etc. We think these, among others, are all good reasons to prefer dgit.
• Q: Can dgit replace GitHub?
  • A: Not for everything yet, but we're working on it! The longer answer is that in the short term we're positioning dgit to complement GitHub and provide a decentralized on-ramp for those who are motivated to decrease their centralization and reliance on GitHub. In the medium to long term we we want to leverage the built-in advantages of decentralization to build a tool that is a compelling alternative even for those who don't have a strong opinion on decentralization one way or the other.