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  1. Stackups
  2. DevOps
  3. Version Control
  4. Version Control System
  5. Git vs Vault

Git vs Vault

OverviewComparisonAlternatives

Overview

Git
Git
Stacks343.7K
Followers184.2K
Votes6.6K
GitHub Stars57.1K
Forks26.9K
Vault
Vault
Stacks816
Followers802
Votes71
GitHub Stars33.4K
Forks4.5K

Git vs Vault: What are the differences?

Introduction:

Git and Vault are both tools commonly used in software development for version control and source code management. While they serve similar purposes, there are key differences between the two.

  1. Architecture: Git is a distributed version control system, where each user has their own copy of the repository with the complete history. In contrast, Vault is a centralized secrets management tool that stores and manages sensitive data like credentials, API keys, and encryption keys in a secure central location.

  2. Versioning: Git is primarily focused on version control, allowing developers to track changes to source code over time. It provides features like branching, merging, and commit history. On the other hand, Vault does not focus on versioning but rather on securing and managing sensitive data, allowing granular access control and providing encryption at rest.

  3. Collaboration: Git is designed for collaboration, enabling multiple developers to work on the same codebase concurrently. It provides features like pull requests and conflict resolution. Vault, on the other hand, is not designed for collaboration but rather for secure storage and management of secrets.

  4. Workflow Integration: Git seamlessly integrates with various development workflows and is widely used in the software development lifecycle. It can be easily integrated with continuous integration and continuous deployment systems. While Vault can also be integrated into development workflows, its primary focus is on the secure management of secrets rather than code deployment.

  5. User Access: Git repositories can be accessed by developers who have permission to access the repository. Different levels of access can be granted to different users or teams. In Vault, access control is more granular and can be fine-tuned based on specific secrets or data. It provides features like dynamic secrets and leases for secure access management.

  6. Use Cases: Git is primarily used for version control and source code management in software development, enabling developers to work collaboratively and track changes to source code. Vault, on the other hand, is used for secure storage and management of sensitive data, such as database credentials, encryption keys, and API keys. It is commonly used in DevOps and cloud-native environments to manage secrets and ensure the secure operation of applications and infrastructure.

In Summary, Git is a distributed version control system focused on code collaboration and versioning, while Vault is a centralized secrets management tool designed for secure storage and management of sensitive data.

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Detailed Comparison

Git
Git
Vault
Vault

Git is a free and open source distributed version control system designed to handle everything from small to very large projects with speed and efficiency.

Vault is a tool for securely accessing secrets. A secret is anything that you want to tightly control access to, such as API keys, passwords, certificates, and more. Vault provides a unified interface to any secret, while providing tight access control and recording a detailed audit log.

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Secure Secret Storage: Arbitrary key/value secrets can be stored in Vault. Vault encrypts these secrets prior to writing them to persistent storage, so gaining access to the raw storage isn't enough to access your secrets. Vault can write to disk, Consul, and more.;Dynamic Secrets: Vault can generate secrets on-demand for some systems, such as AWS or SQL databases. For example, when an application needs to access an S3 bucket, it asks Vault for credentials, and Vault will generate an AWS keypair with valid permissions on demand. After creating these dynamic secrets, Vault will also automatically revoke them after the lease is up.;Data Encryption: Vault can encrypt and decrypt data without storing it. This allows security teams to define encryption parameters and developers to store encrypted data in a location such as SQL without having to design their own encryption methods.;Leasing and Renewal: All secrets in Vault have a lease associated with it. At the end of the lease, Vault will automatically revoke that secret. Clients are able to renew leases via built-in renew APIs.;Revocation: Vault has built-in support for secret revocation. Vault can revoke not only single secrets, but a tree of secrets, for example all secrets read by a specific user, or all secrets of a particular type. Revocation assists in key rolling as well as locking down systems in the case of an intrusion.
Statistics
GitHub Stars
57.1K
GitHub Stars
33.4K
GitHub Forks
26.9K
GitHub Forks
4.5K
Stacks
343.7K
Stacks
816
Followers
184.2K
Followers
802
Votes
6.6K
Votes
71
Pros & Cons
Pros
  • 1429
    Distributed version control system
  • 1053
    Efficient branching and merging
  • 959
    Fast
  • 843
    Open source
  • 726
    Better than svn
Cons
  • 16
    Hard to learn
  • 11
    Inconsistent command line interface
  • 9
    Easy to lose uncommitted work
  • 8
    Worst documentation ever possibly made
  • 5
    Awful merge handling
Pros
  • 17
    Secure
  • 13
    Variety of Secret Backends
  • 11
    Very easy to set up and use
  • 8
    Dynamic secret generation
  • 5
    AuditLog

What are some alternatives to Git, Vault?

Mercurial

Mercurial

Mercurial is dedicated to speed and efficiency with a sane user interface. It is written in Python. Mercurial's implementation and data structures are designed to be fast. You can generate diffs between revisions, or jump back in time within seconds.

SVN (Subversion)

SVN (Subversion)

Subversion exists to be universally recognized and adopted as an open-source, centralized version control system characterized by its reliability as a safe haven for valuable data; the simplicity of its model and usage; and its ability to support the needs of a wide variety of users and projects, from individuals to large-scale enterprise operations.

Plastic SCM

Plastic SCM

Plastic SCM is a distributed version control designed for big projects. It excels on branching and merging, graphical user interfaces, and can also deal with large files and even file-locking (great for game devs). It includes "semantic" features like refactor detection to ease diffing complex refactors.

Pijul

Pijul

Pijul is a free and open source (AGPL 3) distributed version control system. Its distinctive feature is to be based on a sound theory of patches, which makes it easy to learn and use, and really distributed.

Doppler

Doppler

Doppler’s developer-first security platform empowers teams to seamlessly manage, orchestrate, and govern secrets at scale.

IBM SKLM

IBM SKLM

It centralizes, simplifies and automates the encryption key management process to help minimize risk and reduce operational costs of encryption key management. It offers secure, robust key storage, key serving and key lifecycle management for IBM and non-IBM storage solutions using the OASIS Key Management Interoperability Protocol (KMIP).

Docker Secrets

Docker Secrets

A container native solution that strengthens the Trusted Delivery component of container security by integrating secret distribution directly into the container platform.

AWS Secrets Manager

AWS Secrets Manager

AWS Secrets Manager helps you protect secrets needed to access your applications, services, and IT resources. The service enables you to easily rotate, manage, and retrieve database credentials, API keys, and other secrets throughout their lifecycle.

EnvKey

EnvKey

Securely store config and manage access in an end-to-end encrypted, auto-syncing desktop app. Connect your apps in minutes in any language with an environment variable and a line or two of code.

Knox-app

Knox-app

Knox is a SaaS (Secrets as a Service) that helps you manage your keys, secrets, and configurations. Start in minutes and close the widest security breach. You cannot keep storing secrets in your git repo or sharing them by email or slack me

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