What is the Difference Between Mercurial and Git?

Question

I've been using git for some time now on Windows (with msysGit) and I like the idea of distributed source control. Just recently I've been looking at Mercurial (hg) and it looks interesting. However, I can't wrap my head around the differences between hg and git.

Has anyone made a side-by-side comparison between git and hg? I'm interested to know what differs hg and git without having to jump into a fanboy discussion.

Answer 1

There is a dynamic comparison chart over at the versioncontrolblog where you can compare several different version control systems.

Here is a comparison table between git, hg and bzr.

Answer 2

The mercurial website has a great description of the similarities and differences between the two systems, explaining the differences of vocabulary and underlying concepts. As a long time git user, it really helped my understand the Mercurial mindset.

Answer 3

This link may help you to understand the difference http://www.techtatva.com/2010/09/git-mercurial-and-bazaar-a-comparison/

Answer 4

These articles may help:

• Git vs. Mercurial: Please Relax (Git is MacGyver and Mercurial is James Bond)
• The Differences Between Mercurial and Git

Edit: Comparing Git and Mercurial to celebrities seems to be a trend. Here's one more:

• Git is Wesley Snipes, Mercurial is Denzel Washington

Answer 5

Also google's comparison (though it's a bit old, done in 2008)

http://code.google.com/p/support/wiki/DVCSAnalysis

Answer 6

There are quite significant differences when it comes to working with branches (especially short-term ones).

It is explained in this article (BranchingExplained) which compares Mercurial with Git.