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← Glossary

tag

Also called: tags

A permanent name attached to one commit, most often a version number such as `v2.4.0`.

A tag is a fixed name on one commit, and teams use tags to mark releases: v1.4.0 points at exactly the code that shipped as version 1.4.0. Unlike a branch, a tag is not supposed to move. Tags answer the question product people ask most: is this fix released yet? If the fix's commit is contained in a release tag, it is in that release. On GitHub tags live on the Releases page, and publishing a release creates its tag.

Example

A fix was merged after v1.4.0 was tagged. Its commit page lists v1.4.1, so it reached customers in 1.4.1, not earlier.

Common mistakes

Confusing merged with released. A change can sit on main for days before the next tag; only a tag that contains it means it shipped.

Learn it in the course

  • GitHub releases and versions: tags, SemVer, changelogs · What a git tag is, how to read a version number like v1.4.1 (SemVer in plain words), how GitHub releases and generated release notes work, how release notes differ from a changelog, how to check whether a fix is in a version, and why merged, released and live for every user can be three different moments.
  • Git flow: develop, release and hotfix branches · The release-oriented branching model: long-lived main and develop, feature branches, a release branch for each version, hotfix branches, and tags on main. When it fits (app store releases, several supported versions), why many web teams moved to GitHub flow or trunk-based development, and how to recognise each model from a branch list.
  • Repository and commits: reading a GitHub repo page · What a repository in GitHub is, its page from top to bottom, what a single commit tells you, and commit message best practices.
  • Why teams keep history: version control without fear · What version control is, Git vs GitHub and how the two differ, and why looking around a repository can't break anything.
  • Git branches: parallel versions of the project · What a Git branch is, why work happens on short-lived branches next to main, and how to read branches on GitHub: the branch selector, ahead and behind, stale branches, naming conventions and graphs with several lanes.