---
title: Why version control
description: Replace confusing copies of project files with a clear, chronological history.
---

import WorkshopRecordingLink from '../../../../components/workshops/WorkshopRecordingLink.astro';

[Git and GitHub Workshop: CryptX 2.0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRzFBDPsmEI)

<WorkshopRecordingLink href="https://youtu.be/fRzFBDPsmEI" />

## The problem with repeated file copies

For a group assignment, it is easy to end up with files named `final.pdf`, `new_final.pdf`, and `final_final.pdf` as people make corrections. Those copies make it difficult to know which version is current and what changed along the way. [The workshop uses this familiar problem](https://youtu.be/fRzFBDPsmEI?t=1320) to introduce version control.

## Keep a history of changes

Version control records and tracks successive versions of the same project files. Instead of creating a new file copy for each revision, contributors can work with a shared history and see how the project developed over time. [The session introduces version control](https://youtu.be/fRzFBDPsmEI?t=1434) as a way to manage that history.

[Continue to centralized and distributed systems](/docs/ta/workshops/git-and-github/centralized-and-distributed)