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Saved February 14, 2026
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GitHub added over 36 million developers in the past year, driven by the launch of GitHub Copilot Free and a surge in activity across repositories. TypeScript has now surpassed Python and JavaScript as the most popular language on the platform, reflecting a shift towards typed languages and AI integration in development workflows.
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GitHub is experiencing unprecedented growth, with over 36 million new developers joining in the past year alone. This surge brings the total to more than 180 million developers on the platform. Key to this growth was the launch of GitHub Copilot Free in late 2024, which accelerated sign-ups and activity levels. Developers are now creating more than 230 new repositories every minute and merged an average of 43.2 million pull requests each month, marking a 23% increase from the previous year. Code commits reached nearly 1 billion in 2025, with August alone accounting for almost 100 million.
A significant shift in programming languages is also evident. TypeScript has overtaken Python and JavaScript to become the most used language on GitHub as of August 2025. This reflects a trend towards typed languages that enhance the reliability of AI-assisted coding. While TypeScript's rise is notable, Python remains the preferred choice for AI and data science applications. The article highlights the growing influence of AI in development; 80% of new developers are using GitHub Copilot within their first week, signaling that AI tools are becoming standard practice.
Geographically, the developer influx is diverse, with India contributing over 5 million new accounts this year. This trend indicates that GitHub is becoming the primary hub for collaboration worldwide. Private repositories are also seeing significant growth, up 33% year-over-year, indicating a shift towards more organizational development work. In 2025, private contributions accounted for approximately 81.5% of total activity, while public repositories represented 18.5%.
The article points out that the fast adoption of AI tools is shaping not only coding practices but also the tools and languages developers choose. This year marked record levels of activity, with contributions to public projects exceeding 1.12 billion. Developers are increasingly using advanced tools like Jupyter Notebooks and Dockerfiles, which have grown substantially in usage. AI's role in the development process is evolving, suggesting a fundamental shift in how developers approach coding and collaboration.
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