Codeberg is a free non-commercial GitHub alternative for open source projects. You will find it pretty much like GitHub and use it in a similar way. The main difference between GitHub and Codeberg is that it is an independent platform. There is no tracking and no dependencies on external services. It offers all the Git features and has support for private repositories and everything is there to help you save and maintain the code. It comes with a simple UI and you get a link to your repository and you can create unlimited repositories for your free and open-source projects.
GitHub is great but it is owned by Microsoft and big tech companies always track their users on their platforms. Most people are okay with this but if you are one of those, a little paranoid about tracking then you can go for some alternatives. Previously we have covered some self-hosted GitHub alternatives as well but for hosted one, you can go with Codeberg. The biggest reason to join Codeberg is that it is run by the donations of the community members. All you have to do is just create a free account and then you can simply start using it.
Git Features included in Codeberg:
As I have already mentioned that here it offers you the almost same set of features as GitHub. Or, I must say that you can do anything you want here. Some of the Git features are:
- Code: You can upload any kind of code here and manage it. It supports full Git CLI operations and you can easily push code from your PC to the remote repository via simple push operation. If you don’t want to work from CLI then it is okay. You can directly upload source code files on its web interface.
- Issues: For reporting bugs and asking questions, an issues section is there in every repository. People can submit an issue and then you can address them easily from the main dashboard. You can see all the issues assigned to you and raised by you there.
- Pull Requests: You can issue pull requests on any other Codeberg repository to propose a file change. And the same thing can be done by the people to your repositories.
- Wiki: Codeberg has included a Wiki section to each repository. In the Wiki, you can add your project documentation. The Wiki has a nice RTF editor that you can use and then create and publish Wiki pages.
- Stars and Forks: Just like GitHub, people can start your repository to appreciate your work and then you can simply fork someone else’s repository to your profile.
Using this Non-commercial GitHub Alternative:
In order to get started with Codeberg, you just have to create a free account. After signing up and verifying your email, you just create your first repository. From the main UI, create a repo by giving it a name and then you can simply initialize it. You can use git on your PC to upload files.
After a repository is set up, it will look like this. Now, you can push new code to the repo or modify an existing one. Add new releases and do much more.
In this way, you can create a repository on Codeberg and use that accordingly. Just like GitHub, all the features are the same, however, you will miss somethings. Features like GitHub Explore, Project management, GitHub apps, etc., are missing but for general-purpose open-source projects, it is the best you can get.
Closing words:
If you are looking for GitHub alternatives for hosting your open source projects then Codeberg is one of the best. You can use it easily just like GitHub to host anything you want. This is simple and if you switch to it from GitHub, you will complete at home as its interface is somewhat similar to that of GitHub. Personally I really liked it and I hope to see some more features included in it in the future.
