📌 How I stopped treating Git like a tool and started using it as a language for context

I used to think Git was just about commands.
git add, git commit, git push, repeat.

But once I started managing real infrastructure code, I realized Git isn’t about code at all.
It’s about context.

Terraform modules.
Pipelines.
Cloud configs.
That’s when Git stopped being a tool… and became the source of truth for collaboration.

But I learned quickly:
Most of us mistake Git and GitHub for being the same thing.
👉 Git is the engine, the version control system that tracks change.
👉 GitHub is the interface, the collaboration layer built on top of it.
One handles history.
The other handles collaboration.

And when you use both intentionally, version control turns into communication.

That’s what I learned as I went deeper into version control best practices and it changed how I build, review, and automate infrastructure.

The fundamentals don’t change.
Commits give intent.
Branches give structure.
And pull requests give collaboration.

But here’s the reality.
Most teams treat Git as storage, not governance.
Branching strategies drift.
Commit messages lose meaning.
And reviews focus on syntax instead of reasoning.

The challenge is fragmentation.
Terraform in one repo.
Pipeline YAMLs in another.
Cloud configs everywhere else.
And no single place tells the story of why infrastructure evolved the way it did.

The opportunity is convergence.
A context-first Git workflow connects code, automation, and governance:
✅ Semantic commits, describe what changed and why (not “fix typo in main.tf”).
✅ Branch strategy, use feature/, infra/, policy/ prefixes to align workstreams.
✅ Linked issues, every infra change tied to a reason, not just a repo.
✅ Review culture, PRs that teach, not just approve.
✅ GitHub Actions, automate plan/apply, security scans, and policy checks before merge.
✅ Tags & releases, version infrastructure like software; history becomes an audit trail.

Going through the GitHub Foundations journey, from Irshad and Ali, made me realize something simple but powerful:
Version control isn’t just about managing code, it’s about governing change.
And in DevOps, change is constant.

A context-first Git workflow isn’t about commands.
It’s about collaboration through shared understanding.
Because the biggest blocker in Infrastructure as Code isn’t missing automation...
it’s missing context in version control.

😍 If you’d like the free GitHub Foundations Certification Guide that helped me level up my Git/GitHub workflow, just comment “GitHub” below, I’ll send it over.

❤️ You can connect your GitHub account or organization to import repositories, manage code, commit changes, and do PRs directly in Infracodebase.