Episode Summary

On this episode of if/else, host Mayuko Inoue looks at two software development version control platforms: GitHub and GitLab.

While both platforms offer Git repository hosting, issue tracking, and integrations, there are important differences in cost, popularity, security, and philosophy.

The episode begins with a quick backgrounder on these two platforms, and then you’ll hear from several software developers about their experiences with each.

You’ll also meet Tim Skaggs. Tim is a VP of Engineering at the hiring management software company ApolloFactor. His team currently uses GitHub, but Tim is considering a move to GitLab to save money and streamline certain processes around continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD). But is this the right move? Will it solve some of the team’s challenges, or will they regret the move?

To help Tim make the best choice for his company, we’ve enlisted the help of two experts to debate the pros and cons of each option.

Phil Haack is the proprietor of Haacked LLC. He was a director of engineering at GitHub and helped make GitHub friendly to developers on the Microsoft platform.

Will Hall is a DevOps Consultant at HeleCloud, and a GitLab Hero with a passion for open source software.

Phil and Will join Mayuko to try to surface the most important information that Tim should consider, and to game out the best scenarios for Tim’s team.