Top ForgeFed Alternatives for Decentralized Code Hosting

ForgeFed (formerly GitPub) is an innovative decentralized federation protocol built on W3C's ActivityPub, extending ActivityStream 2.0 to offer server-to-server APIs for pull requests, forking, and repository subscriptions across Git web services like GitHub, GitLab, Gogs, and Gitea. While ForgeFed aims to revolutionize decentralized code management, you might be looking for more established or feature-rich platforms. This article explores the best ForgeFed alternative options available today, catering to various needs from large enterprise solutions to lightweight self-hosted options.

Top ForgeFed Alternatives

Whether you prioritize extensive features, open-source flexibility, ease of use, or robust community support, there's a ForgeFed alternative out there for you. Here's a look at some of the leading contenders:

GitHub

GitHub is a widely recognized web-based hosting service for projects utilizing the Git revision control system. As a robust ForgeFed alternative, it offers extensive features like file versioning, unlimited private repos (for Freemium users), IFTTT integration, and comprehensive version and source control. It supports various platforms including Mac, Windows, Web, Android, and BSD, making it a versatile choice for teams of all sizes.

GitLab

GitLab stands out as a powerful web-based Git repository management solution, complete with a wiki, code reviews, issue-tracking, and a comprehensive CI/CD pipeline. This open-source ForgeFed alternative, available on Linux, Web, BSD, and self-hosted environments, offers unlimited private repos, continuous builds, deployment, and integration, making it ideal for teams requiring an all-in-one DevOps platform.

Bitbucket

Bitbucket provides excellent code collaboration and version control, serving as a strong ForgeFed alternative with hosted (freemium) options for up to 5 users and commercial self-hosted subscriptions. Supporting Mac, Windows, Linux, and Web platforms, it offers private repositories, Jira integration, Mercurial support, Git integration, and real-time collaboration, perfect for teams needing integrated project management.

SourceForge

SourceForge is a well-established web-based source code repository, acting as a centralized location for open-source software development. As a free web-based ForgeFed alternative, it provides robust version and source control, making it a viable option for open-source projects looking for a community-driven platform.

Gitea

Gitea is a community-managed, lightweight, open-source code hosting solution written in Go, published under the MIT license. This free ForgeFed alternative is self-hostable on Mac, Windows, Linux, and BSD, offering private repositories, an included wiki, FIDO U2F (2FA) support, Git LFS 2.0 support, and robust security features, making it an excellent choice for those seeking a highly customizable and lightweight solution.

Gogs

Gogs (Go Git Service) offers the easiest and most painless way to set up a self-hosted Git service. As a free and open-source ForgeFed alternative, it's remarkably lightweight and can be distributed as an independent binary across ALL platforms (Mac, Windows, Linux, self-hosted). Features include code review, version and source control, and a wiki, perfect for minimalists.

Launchpad

Launchpad is a collaboration and Bazaar code hosting platform, primarily for open-source software projects. This free and open-source ForgeFed alternative (web-based, built with Python) provides free hosting for public projects and features like PPA and real-time collaboration, making it a good fit for open-source development, especially within the Ubuntu ecosystem.

Trac

Trac is an enhanced wiki and issue tracking system designed for software development projects. This free and open-source ForgeFed alternative, available on Mac, Windows, Linux, Web, and self-hosted, adopts a minimalistic approach to web-based project management. It includes features like activity history, helpdesk ticketing, an included wiki, and SCM Integration.

Phabricator

Phabricator is a collection of open-source web applications designed to help software companies build better software. As a comprehensive ForgeFed alternative, it's free and open-source, supporting Mac, Linux, Web, and self-hosted environments. Key features include code review, FIDO U2F (2FA) support, an included wiki, integrated chat, Kanban boards, and extensive version and source control for Git, Mercurial, and SVN.

GitBucket

GitBucket is an easily installable open-source GitHub clone written with Scala. This free and open-source ForgeFed alternative runs on Mac, Windows, Linux, Web, and self-hosted environments, offering a GitHub-like UI and features such as Git repository hosting via HTTP and SSH, and support for the GitHub API. It's an excellent choice for those seeking a familiar interface in a self-hosted solution.

Choosing the best ForgeFed alternative depends entirely on your specific project requirements, team size, and preference for features like CI/CD, self-hosting, or a particular collaboration model. Explore these options to find the perfect fit for your decentralized code hosting needs.