Git is complex because version control is inherently a complex problem. Let's look at some of the Git complexity that people don't like, and why they should: B

Git is complex because version control is inherently a complex problem. Let's look at some of the Git complexity that people don't like, and why they should: Branches: Especially if you work on a team, but even if you work alone, you definitely want branches. Often you'll want to work on an experimental or not-production-ready feature or refactoring. Yet you'll still need to be able to jump to the production codebase and maintain it, e.g. when a high-priority bug is found. Branches assist you in this and other scenarios. Local commits: You shouldn't need to rely on the network just to save your progress. Cloning: Every developer's Git repo is a complete copy of the main repo. That gives you an automatic backup system for every project. If you've ever seen corruption in a central SVN repo, you know how important backups are. Yes, with SVN you could implement your own backups for the central repo, but with Git, it's one fewer thing I have to do. Adding a.k.a. staging: If you've changed a bunch of files but only want to commit a subset of the changes, it's nice to be able to add them incrementally. The alternative is to have to type out all the paths in one big commit command, which isn't as user-friendly.