Codeberg

Codeberg is a free, community-driven Git hosting platform that has rapidly become the go-to destination for open-source developers who want to keep their code on European infrastructure. Founded in 2019 as a registered non-profit association (eingetragener Verein) in Berlin, Germany, Codeberg was born from the growing concern within the open-source community about the concentration of code repositories on US-controlled platforms, particularly after Microsoft's acquisition of GitHub in 2018. The platform is operated by Codeberg e.V., a charitable organization dedicated to creating and maintaining free collaboration infrastructure for free and open-source projects.

Unlike commercial code hosting services that monetize through premium tiers or data collection, Codeberg is funded entirely by donations and memberships. This non-profit structure means that Codeberg has no financial incentive to mine user data, display advertising, or lock projects into proprietary ecosystems. The platform is built on Forgejo, an open-source Git forge that is itself hosted on Codeberg, creating a virtuous cycle of open-source development. For developers who believe that the tools used to build free software should themselves be free software, Codeberg represents a principled alternative to GitHub and hosted GitLab.

Git Hosting and Repository Management

At its core, Codeberg provides feature-rich Git repository hosting with an intuitive web interface. Users can create unlimited public and private repositories, organize them under personal accounts or organizations, and manage access through fine-grained permissions. The platform supports all standard Git operations including branches, tags, submodules, and Git LFS (Large File Storage) for managing binary assets. The web interface provides syntax-highlighted code browsing, blame views, commit history exploration, and inline diff comparisons.

Codeberg's repository management includes several thoughtful features that enhance the developer experience. Repositories can be mirrored from other platforms, making migration from GitHub or GitLab straightforward. The platform supports repository topics and descriptions for discoverability, and the Explore section allows users to browse trending projects and discover new open-source software. Fork and pull request workflows function similarly to GitHub, ensuring that contributors familiar with mainstream platforms feel immediately at home.

Issue Tracking and Project Management

Codeberg provides a comprehensive issue tracking system that supports labels, milestones, assignees, and due dates. Issues can be organized using a Kanban-style project board, making it easy to visualize work in progress and plan releases. The issue tracker supports Markdown formatting, file attachments, cross-references between issues, and mentions of other users. Templates can be defined for bug reports and feature requests, helping to standardize the information contributors provide.

The platform also includes a wiki feature for each repository, allowing project maintainers to create and organize documentation directly alongside their code. Pull requests support code review workflows with inline comments, review approvals, and merge options including squash and rebase. For projects with multiple maintainers, the protected branch feature ensures that code cannot be pushed directly to critical branches without going through the review process.

Codeberg Pages and Static Site Hosting

Codeberg Pages is a free static website hosting service similar to GitHub Pages. Developers can publish project documentation, personal blogs, or organizational websites directly from a Git repository. The service supports custom domains with automatic HTTPS certificates via Let's Encrypt, and builds are triggered automatically when changes are pushed to the designated branch. This feature is particularly valuable for open-source projects that need a professional web presence without the cost and complexity of separate hosting.

The Pages service supports all static site generators including Hugo, Jekyll, Eleventy, and plain HTML/CSS. Codeberg provides clear documentation on setting up custom domains and configuring DNS records, making it accessible even for developers who are new to web hosting. The service is fast and reliable, with content served through a CDN for optimal loading times across Europe and beyond.

Codeberg CI/CD with Woodpecker

Codeberg integrates with Woodpecker CI, an open-source continuous integration and delivery platform that enables automated build, test, and deployment pipelines. Woodpecker CI configurations are defined in YAML files within the repository, following a familiar pipeline-as-code approach. The integration supports Docker-based builds, matrix builds for testing across multiple environments, and secrets management for deployment credentials.

While Codeberg's CI/CD offering is less mature than GitHub Actions or GitLab CI, it is actively developed and covers the essential needs of most open-source projects. The Woodpecker CI runners are maintained by the Codeberg community, and the compute resources are shared among all users. For projects with intensive CI needs, users can also connect their own Woodpecker runners to their Codeberg repositories, providing flexibility and scalability.

Packages Registry

Codeberg provides a built-in package registry that supports multiple package formats including npm, PyPI, Maven, NuGet, Composer, Cargo, and container images (OCI). This allows project maintainers to publish and distribute software packages directly from their Codeberg repositories, eliminating the need for external package hosting services. The package registry integrates with the CI/CD system, enabling automated publishing of new versions as part of the release pipeline.

Privacy, Data Sovereignty, and GDPR

As a German non-profit, Codeberg operates under some of the strictest data protection regulations in the world. Germany's implementation of GDPR through the Bundesdatenschutzgesetz (BDSG) provides additional protections beyond the baseline EU regulation. Codeberg's servers are located in European data centers, and the organization has a clear privacy policy that commits to minimal data collection. Unlike commercial platforms, Codeberg does not track user behavior for advertising or analytics purposes.

Codeberg does not require a real name for registration, and users can sign up with just an email address. The platform does not embed third-party tracking scripts, does not use cookies for advertising, and does not share user data with third parties. This privacy-first approach makes Codeberg particularly attractive for developers working on sensitive projects or those who simply want to minimize their digital footprint while contributing to open-source software.

Community and Governance

Codeberg's governance model is transparently democratic. As a registered association under German law, Codeberg e.V. is governed by its members who elect the board and vote on major decisions. Annual reports are published, and the organization's finances are open to member scrutiny. This governance structure ensures that Codeberg serves its community rather than investors or shareholders, a fundamental difference from venture-capital-funded alternatives.

The Codeberg community is active and welcoming, with discussions taking place on the platform itself, on Matrix chat channels, and through the organization's blog. The community contributes not only to the platform's development but also to translations, documentation, and user support. Regular community events and discussions help shape the platform's roadmap and priorities.

Migration from GitHub and GitLab

Codeberg provides straightforward migration tools for users moving from GitHub or GitLab. The platform can import repositories including all branches, tags, issues, labels, milestones, and pull requests. The migration process preserves commit history and metadata, making it possible to switch platforms without losing project history. For organizations making the transition, Codeberg's migration documentation provides step-by-step guidance and best practices.

Limitations and Considerations

Codeberg's non-profit model means that resources are limited compared to well-funded commercial platforms. The CI/CD compute capacity is shared and may experience queues during peak usage. Some advanced features available on GitHub or GitLab, such as sophisticated security scanning, code spaces, or built-in project management boards with advanced automation, are not yet available on Codeberg. The platform is primarily designed for open-source projects, and while private repositories are supported, businesses with complex enterprise requirements may find the feature set insufficient.

Despite these limitations, Codeberg continues to grow rapidly, with over 100,000 registered users and hundreds of thousands of repositories. The platform's focus on doing one thing well -- providing ethical, privacy-respecting code hosting -- resonates strongly with the open-source community. For developers and organizations that value software freedom and European data sovereignty, Codeberg is an increasingly compelling choice.