Geth has been a core part of Etheruem since the very beginning. Geth was one of the original Ethereum implementations making it the most battle-hardened and tested client.
Geth is an Ethereum *execution client* meaning it handles transactions, deployment and execution of smart contracts and contains an embedded computer known as the *Ethereum Virtual Machine*.
Ethereum is a technology for building apps and organizations, holding assets, transacting and communicating without being controlled by a central authority. It is the base of a new, decentralized internet.
Running your own node enables you to use Ethereum in a truly private, self-sufficient and trustless manner. You don't need to trust information you receive because you can verify the data yourself using your Geth instance.
We welcome contributions from anyone on the internet, and are grateful for even the smallest of fixes! If you'd like to contribute to the Geth source code, please fork the [Github repository](https://github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum), fix, commit and send a pull request for the maintainers to review and merge into the main code base. See our [contribution guidelines](/content/docs/developers/contributing.md) for more information.
