Git is a distributed version control system designed and developed by Linus Torvalds for Linux kernel development. It allows for distributed workflows where developers have full control over their local copy of the codebase. Git uses a three-tree model with the workspace, staging area, and local repository to track changes to files. Common Git commands allow users to initialize repositories, add and commit files, create and switch between branches, merge code from different branches, and collaborate remotely through fetching, pulling and pushing changes.