MSysGit vs. Git for Windows - windows

Question

I am having trouble determining the difference between MSysGit and Git for Windows. How are they different? Why would I choose one over the other?

Answer 1

Are they not the same thing?
On: http://msysgit.github.com/ The title is Git for Windows, the application is msysgit.
Even in the event they are not, I expect the only differences will be in the method of compilation (i.e. compiler used and any options set) and any extraneous packaging (such as having a bash emulating shell as in msysgit). The actual product (Git itself) should remain broadly similar.
Edit: Thanks to Jarrod for pointing this out. I've left the above in for posterity. To quote the wiki:
msysGit is the development environment
to compile Git for Windows. It is
complete, in the sense that you just
need to install msysGit, and then you
can build Git. Without installing any
3rd-party software.
msysGit is not Git for Windows; that
is an installer which installs Git --
and only Git.
It is easy to see the difference: the
installers for Git have the prefix
Git-, the msysGit installers have the
prefix msysGit-. Another telltale is
that the msysGit installers come in
two flavors: fullinstall and
netinstall. Further, msysGit does not
install to C:\Program Files by
default. But msysGit comes with gcc,
the GNU C Compiler.
So, the difference between the two projects:
msysGit is the msys+mingw environment + everything needed to compile Git yourself, on Windows.
Git for Windows is exactly that: Git, compiled for Windows.

Answer 2

(Now) they are the same (as of May 2015 but likely a bit earlier):
"msysgit" and "Git for Windows" have merged under the name "Git for Windows." msysgit.github.io now hosts "Git for Windows" and the main git download site git-scm.com lists msysgit.github.io as the maintained build for windows.
From the updated wiki:
... we decided to just phase out the name "msysGit" (as well as the GitHub org of the same name) and work on Git for Windows (with the corresponding GitHub org, and using the name "Git for Windows" for the installer aimed at "end-users" and "Git for Windows SDK" for the development environment targeting Git for Windows developers).

Answer 3

Here is the excerpt 'Official README'
"portable" version of Git for Windows (MSysGit) does not need tobe installed. It will run from any directory you place it in, evenonto a USB thumbdrive. It will not write permanent entries into the Windows registry. It does not need administrator privileges to "install". This version does not offer you the convenient right-click context menu entries "Git GUI Here" and "Git Bash Here", because these would require to add entries into the Windows registry.

Answer 4

Git for Windows is newer than msysGit. If you want to use Git version 2.x you need to download from https://github.com/git-for-windows/git/releases. https://github.com/msysgit/git/releases is used for Git version 1.x.
Some technical details from https://github.com/git-for-windows/git/wiki/FAQ
Git for Windows used to be developed using the development environment called "msysGit", but roughly coinciding with Git 2.1, msysGit was superseded by a new development environment: the Git for Windows SDK.

Answer 5

As many answers in this post are old.
As on Nov 2015,
msysGit-based Git for Windows 1.x is now superseded by Git for Windows 2.x.
Git for Windows and git-scm both points to same download location for their binary
Download Location:
https://github.com/git-for-windows/git/releases/download/v2.7.1.windows.2/Git-2.7.1.2-64-bit.exe

Answer 6

The titles on the download page have just been updated so that the "Git for Windows" versions are fully identified. There is now both an 'installed' version (with right click menu options), and a Portable version that runs direct from a memory stick etc.

Answer 7

From what I understand Git on Windows is the project consisting of the four bulletpoints below.
Taken directly from https://github.com/msysgit/msysgit/wiki:
Git on Windows
To make the milky 'soup' of project names more clear, we say like this:
msysGit - is the name of this project, a build environment for Git
for Windows, which releases the official binaries
MinGW - is a minimalist development environment for native Microsoft Windows applications.
MSYS - is a Bourne Shell command line interpreter system, is used by MinGW (and others), was forked in the past from Cygwin
Cygwin - a Linux like environment, which was used in the past to build Git for Windows, nowadays has no relation to msysGit

Answer 8

This is a more clear general comparison right from their site https://github.com/msysgit/msysgit
Git for Windows is the software package that installs a minimal environment to run Git on Windows. It comes with a Bash (a Unix-type shell), with a Perl interpreter and with the Git executable and its dependencies.
On the other hand, msysGit is the software package installing the build environment that can build Git for Windows. The easiest way is to install it via the net installer.

Answer 9

Git for Windows is probably what you want. It includes the following primary features:
Git BASH Git for Windows provides a BASH emulation used to run Git
from the command line. *NIX users should feel right at home, as the
BASH emulation behaves just like the "git" command in LINUX and UNIX
environments.
Git GUI As Windows users commonly expect graphical user
interfaces, Git for Windows also provides the Git GUI, a powerful
alternative to Git BASH, offering a graphical version of just about
every Git command line function, as well as comprehensive visual diff
tools.
Shell Integration Simply right-click on a folder in Windows
Explorer to access the BASH or GUI. The Git-Cheetah plugin also
provides a TortoiseSVN-like interface that displays Git functions
directly on the context menu.
The following is available as a separate download from the same page...
msysGit is a build environment that includes all the tools necessary for developers who want to contribute by writing code for Git for Windows.
Git BASH delivers a familiar environment for Linux experts who occasionally need to use a Windows machine -- even if they don't need git itself. It starts with the BASH prompt and adds a collection of core utility programs such as ssh, find, grep, vi, awk, and of course git.