Glyph is canonical. Git and GitHub are compatibility targets. Git users should read this page as a translation layer, not as a promise that every Git concept survives unchanged. Glyph keeps compatibility at the boundary while using source graph primitives internally.

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Mapping

GitGlyph
commitpublication event, checkpoint, snapshot, or imported provenance
branchwork context, realm, or remote tracking view
HEADcurrent realm projection pointer or exported Git branch tip
working treematerialized workspace projection
indexinternal implementation detail
merge commitpublication integrating multiple work contexts
tagnamed source graph reference or release marker
remoteGlyph remote origin

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Branches Become Work Contexts Or Realms

In Git, a branch is often used for two different jobs: isolating active work and naming a shared line of history. Glyph splits those jobs:
  • a work context isolates active work
  • a realm names a permissioned source view
That means a feature branch becomes a work context, while a long-lived public or maintainer branch usually becomes a realm.

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Commits Become Snapshots, Checkpoints, Or Publications

Git commits are overloaded. They can mean “I saved progress”, “this is ready for review”, “this is public”, or “CI needed a point in history.” Glyph separates those meanings:
  • snapshot: captured source state
  • checkpoint: explicit milestone inside work
  • publication: intentional movement into a realm
Export can turn a publication into a Git commit so GitHub still sees normal Git history.

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Export

The current prototype exports the public realm to a clean Git repository and can push that export to GitHub. 
glyph export git --realm public --out /tmp/glyph-export --json
glyph remote sync origin --json
Generated .gitignore and .gitinclude files come from glyph.yaml defaults.

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GitHub Is Infrastructure

When Glyph pushes to GitHub, it is publishing a compatibility projection. The canonical source graph remains local in .glyph/ for prototype 0. This lets a project use GitHub for visibility, hosting, CI, and collaboration while still experimenting with a source-control model designed for agents.