---
title: Git behind the scenes
collection: Chai aur Git
author: Hitesh Choudhary
updated: 2026-08-09
source: https://docs.chaicode.com/chai-aur-git/behind-the-scenes
---

# Git behind the scenes

Git is a version control system that allows you to track changes to your files and folders. It is a powerful tool that can help you manage your code more effectively. In this section, we will explore the basics of how git works internally.

## Git Snapshots

A git snapshot is a point in time in the history of your code. It represents a specific version of your code, including all the files and folders that were present at that time. Each snapshot is identified by a unique hash code, which is a string of characters that represents the contents of the snapshot.

A snapshot is not an image, it's just a representation of the code at a specific point in time. Snapshot is a loose term that is used when git stores information about the code in a locally stored key-value based database. Everything is stored as an object and each object is identified by a unique hash code.

## 3 Musketeers of Git

The three musketeers of git are:

- Commit Object
- Tree Object
- Blob Object

## Commit Object

Each commit in the project is stored in `.git` folder in the form of a commit object. A commit object contains the following information:

- Tree Object
- Parent Commit Object
- Author
- Committer
- Commit Message

## Tree Object

Tree Object is a container for all the files and folders in the project. It contains the following information:

- File Mode
- File Name
- File Hash
- Parent Tree Object

Everything is stored as key-value pairs in the tree object. The key is the file name and the value is the file hash.

## Blob Object

Blob Object is present in the tree object and contains the actual file content. This is the place where the file content is stored.

![Git Behind The Scenes.](/assets/abf2cd837b2789df500a8e4beef18e5f674960ef5966b35e78a11a697890a87a.png)

## Helpful commands

Here are some helpful commands that you can use to explore the git internals:

```sh
git show -s --pretty=raw <commit-hash>
```

Grab tree id from the above command and use it in the following command to get the tree object:

```sh
git ls-tree <tree-id>
```

Grab tree id from the above command and use it in the following command to get the blob object:

```sh
git show <blob-id>
```

Grab tree id from the above command and use it in the following command to get the commit object:

```sh
git cat-file -p <commit-id>
```