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Codeberg

Non-profit German Git forge (Forgejo) for free/open-source projects, with Pages, Woodpecker CI, and Weblate—operated by Codeberg e.V. in Berlin.

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Codeberg is a community-run software development platform operated by Codeberg e.V., a registered non-profit association in Berlin. The public forge at codeberg.org is built on Forgejo, which Codeberg e.V. also stewards.

It exists for free and open-source software, free hardware, and free cultural works that do not want a US commercial Git host as the default home. Public repository content must use a free or open license that allows use, study, modification, and redistribution.

The concrete differentiator is that German non-profit forge plus the hosted extras: Codeberg Pages, Woodpecker CI, and Codeberg Translate (Weblate). It is a hosted community service, not a paid enterprise GitHub clone.

EU-operated (DE)Open source (Forgejo)Non-profit e.V.FLOSS-focusedHosting in GermanyNo ad tracking (claimed)

Shortlist Codeberg when you need a free, German non-profit host for FLOSS Git projects with optional Pages, request-gated Woodpecker CI, and Weblate—and you accept community-funded SLAs. Skip when you need large private monorepos, paid enterprise compliance packaging, or GitHub/GitLab marketplace depth; self-host Forgejo or stay on GitLab/GitHub instead.

Key capabilities

Hosted Forgejo instance with standard forge workflows: Git repos, issues, pull requests, wikis, and package features. UI is familiar to GitHub users, which lowers migration cost for FLOSS teams. Public content must meet free-license rules in the Terms of Use.

Publish static sites at username.codeberg.page or custom domains via the git-pages stack (webhook or Forgejo Actions deploy). Suited to project docs and simple sites—not a full CMS or dynamic app host. Pages stack has been migrating from legacy pages-server v2; check current docs for deprecations.

Optional CI on ci.codeberg.org after a volunteer-reviewed access request. linux/amd64 only on the shared instance; provided as-is with resource-use expectations. Orgs can attach self-hosted Woodpecker agents or run their own Woodpecker linked to Codeberg.

Hosted Weblate at translate.codeberg.org for collaborative localization of FOSS projects. Useful when i18n is part of release process without standing up a separate Weblate server.

Operated by Codeberg e.V. (Berlin); funded by donations/memberships, not ads. Privacy policy and site claim no third-party advertising cookies or tracking analytics; session cookies only for CSRF/login. Optional e.V. membership carries voting rights over association leadership.

At a glance

HQ
Berlin, Germany (Codeberg e.V.)
Legal form
Registered non-profit association (e.V.)
Stack
Forgejo + Pages + Woodpecker CI + Weblate
Commercial model
Free for eligible FLOSS; donations & optional membership
Self-host product
No (host Forgejo yourself)

Best fit when

  • FLOSS maintainers and contributors who need public Git hosting under free licenses
  • Teams migrating public projects off GitHub for non-profit governance or reduced US-platform dependency
  • Projects that want static docs sites (Pages) and collaborative translation (Weblate) next to the forge
  • Orgs comfortable with donation-funded infrastructure and volunteer-reviewed CI access
  • Users who prefer a Forgejo/GitHub-like UI over email-centric forges

Poor fit when

  • Closed-source product teams needing large private monorepos or paid private Git as a product
  • Enterprises requiring commercial SLAs, formal ISO/SOC evidence packs, or full DevSecOps suites out of the box
  • Workloads that depend on automatic pull-mirrors from other forges (disabled on Codeberg)
  • Heavy multi-arch CI fleets needing always-on shared runners without self-hosted agents
  • Anyone seeking a general-purpose personal cloud or media backup host

Consider instead when

  • When: You need proprietary private repos with commercial support and marketplace CI

    Consider: GitHub or GitLab SaaS

    Deeper integrations and paid compliance packaging; US/corporate ownership and different privacy posture.

  • When: You need full control of policies, SSO, and data plane under your own DPA

    Consider: Self-hosted Forgejo (or self-managed GitLab) on EU infrastructure

    Codeberg.org is not a private enterprise SKU; Forgejo is the self-host path Codeberg documents.

  • When: You prefer minimal-web, email/patch-oriented FLOSS workflows

    Consider: SourceHut

    Different UX and commercial model; still not a German non-profit.

Jurisdiction & ownership

Legal entity
Codeberg e.V. (Amtsgericht Charlottenburg VR36929; Arminiusstraße 2-4, 10551 Berlin)
Governing law
Germany (association / platform Terms of Use; content subject to German law)
US parent / control
No known US parent
CLOUD Act exposure (indicative)
Low
Hosting / residency
Primary services on association-controlled bare-metal in Berlin (Germany); backups/redundancy/DR/DDoS and related tasks use German providers netcup GmbH and Hetzner Online GmbH (FAQ). Privacy policy: servers physically in Germany; fuller third-party list available on request. Payment processors for donations/memberships.

No known US parent. Indicative CLOUD Act exposure is low relative to US-HQ forges because hosting and named infra partners are German entities; still assess payment processors and any on-request subprocessors for your threat model. Not legal advice.

  • Independent security / no-logs auditNot found
  • ISO 27001Not found
  • SOC 2 / SOC 3Not found
  • GDPR / EU data protectionVendor claimed
  • +3

Considerations & known limitations

  • HighFLOSS mission limits private/proprietary use

    Public content must use free licenses; private repos are a small convenience for FLOSS contributors, not a commercial private-hosting product. Proprietary monorepos belong elsewhere or on self-hosted Forgejo.

  • MediumNo commercial availability SLA

    Donation-funded community infrastructure with explicit disclaimer of warranties. Orgs must keep independent backups and exit plans; do not treat Codeberg as sole system of record for critical business IP without risk acceptance.

  • MediumNo public ISO/SOC certification pack

    Procurement teams expecting vendor ISO 27001 or SOC 2 attestations will not find them advertised for Codeberg.org. Mitigate with your own threat model, encryption at rest in repos where needed, and self-hosting if cert packs are mandatory.

  • MediumShared CI is request-gated and best-effort

    Woodpecker access requires volunteer approval; shared runners are linux/amd64 and may break for maintenance. Plan self-hosted agents for heavy or multi-arch pipelines.

  • LowFull third-party list on request only

    FAQ names netcup and Hetzner for backups/DR/DDoS; privacy policy says the complete third-party list is available on request. Request it in writing before high-sensitivity workloads.

Open questions for due diligence

  • Will Codeberg e.V. provide a written Art. 28 DPA and current subprocessor list for our legal file?
  • What backup retention, restore RPO/RTO, and export tooling apply if we treat the forge as critical infrastructure?
  • Can our CI profile (arch, minutes, secrets handling) be met with shared Woodpecker, self-hosted agents, or a private Woodpecker link?
  • Are any remaining Pages v2 projects still on our migration path to git-pages?
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Frequently Asked Questions

No as a commercial product. Codeberg’s Terms of Use and FAQ target FLOSS and free cultural works. Private repos are a limited convenience for FLOSS contributors (public FAQ cites roughly 100 MB of private content as a rule of thumb) for notes, secrets, or pre-release work—not a paid private Git SKU. For proprietary product code, self-host Forgejo or use a commercial forge with a DPA/SLA.

Codeberg states that servers are physically in Germany. Primary services run largely on association-controlled bare-metal in a Berlin facility; netcup GmbH and Hetzner Online GmbH are named in the public FAQ for backups, redundancy, DR, DDoS protection, and related tasks. A fuller third-party list is available on request per the privacy policy. Confirm current subprocessors in writing if you need a formal transfer assessment.

CI is Woodpecker at ci.codeberg.org and requires a manual access request so volunteers can limit abuse. Shared runners are linux/amd64 and best-effort. Forgejo Actions also exist (including limited hosted alpha and self-hosted runners). Pages publish static content via git-pages (username.codeberg.page or custom domains). Neither replaces enterprise CI fleets or multi-region CD products.

No. Forgejo is the free software forge (hard-fork of Gitea lineage) that you can self-host. Codeberg.org is a public instance of Forgejo plus extra community services (Pages, CI, Translate), operated by Codeberg e.V. under FOSS mission rules. Want private control or different policy? Install Forgejo yourself.

The forge is free for eligible FOSS use and sustained by donations and optional association membership—not seat licenses. Terms explicitly disclaim guarantees of availability; you remain responsible for backups. Treat it as community infrastructure with high mission alignment, not a vendor SLA. Budget staff time for export/mirror strategies and for requesting larger storage or CI resources when projects grow.