Forgejo

Self-Hosted

Self-hosted lightweight code forge

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Overview

Discover what makes Forgejo powerful

Forgejo is a self‑hosted, open‑source software forge that emulates the GitHub experience while keeping control firmly in your hands. It is designed to be lightweight, secure, and highly extensible, making it a popular choice for developers who want an on‑premise or cloud instance that scales from a single workstation to large distributed teams. At its core, Forgejo is a Git repository manager that adds issue tracking, CI/CD pipelines, code review tools, and project collaboration features—all delivered through a single monolithic Go application.

Git hosting

Issue & project boards

Built‑in CI/CD

Code review & pull‑request

Overview

Key Features

Git hosting with branch protection, merge checks, and fine‑grained access control.
Issue & project boards that mirror GitHub’s milestone and label system, enabling Kanban‑style workflows.
Built‑in CI/CD pipelines (forgejo-ci) that run arbitrary Docker containers or native Go tests, fully integrated with the repo’s webhook system.
Code review & pull‑request workflow, including automatic merge conflict detection and status checks.
Package registry for OCI images and language‑specific package formats, facilitating end‑to‑end delivery pipelines.
Federation via the ActivityPub protocol, allowing cross‑instance collaboration without compromising data sovereignty.

Technical Stack

Layer	Technology
Runtime	Go 1.22+ (single binary, no external runtime)
Web Framework	`net/http` + custom router; templating with Go’s standard library
Database	PostgreSQL (recommended), MySQL, or SQLite for small deployments
Auth & Security	OAuth2/OpenID Connect, SAML, LDAP integration; TLS termination optional
Background Workers	Goroutine pools for CI jobs, email notifications, and webhook delivery
Storage	Git objects stored in the local filesystem or S3‑compatible object stores; artifacts in a database or external bucket
Containerization	Docker image available on Docker Hub; Helm chart for Kubernetes deployments

The entire application is compiled into a single static binary, which simplifies upgrades and reduces the attack surface. The use of Go’s concurrency model ensures that a high number of simultaneous requests (e.g., concurrent PR merges) can be handled with minimal thread contention.

Core Capabilities & APIs

REST API (/api/v1/...) exposes all core functionality: repos, issues, milestones, pipelines, and user management.
GraphQL API provides a flexible query interface for advanced integrations.
Webhooks & Event Streaming: JSON payloads on pushes, pull‑request events, issue updates, and CI job status changes.
Plugin System: Go‑based plugins that can hook into lifecycle events (e.g., PreMerge, PostCommit). Plugins are loaded at runtime from a configurable directory.
CLI (forgejo): Administrative commands for user creation, repo migration, and database maintenance.

Deployment & Infrastructure

Forgejo’s minimal resource footprint (typically < 200 MiB RAM for a modest instance) makes it ideal for:

Docker Compose: A single docker-compose.yml can spin up the app, PostgreSQL, and a reverse proxy.
Kubernetes: Helm chart supports StatefulSets with persistent volumes; autoscaling can be applied to the CI worker pods.
Bare Metal / VMs: Direct binary deployment with systemd service files; can be integrated into existing CI/CD pipelines.

The application supports high‑availability setups by replicating the database and using an external load balancer. For large teams, a dedicated CI worker cluster can be added to offload build jobs from the main service.

Integration & Extensibility

Forgejo’s architecture is intentionally modular:

Plugin API: Developers can write Go plugins that register event handlers, modify HTTP responses, or expose new endpoints.
External CI: Supports running jobs in external runners (e.g., Jenkins, GitLab Runner) via webhook triggers.
Third‑Party OAuth: Integration with GitHub, GitLab, Google, or corporate SSO providers is supported out of the box.
ActivityPub: Federation enables cross‑instance issue tracking and PR reviews, useful for open‑source projects spread across multiple organizations.

Developer Experience

Configuration: All settings are stored in a single app.ini file; environment variables override defaults, facilitating CI/CD pipelines.
Documentation: The official docs cover API reference, plugin development guide, and migration procedures with detailed examples.
Community: Maintained by the Codeberg e.V. foundation, Forgejo has an active issue tracker and a Discord channel for real‑time support.
Licensing: AGPLv3 ensures that any modifications remain open, aligning with the principles of free software.

Use Cases

Scenario	Why Forgejo?
Enterprise CI/CD	Native pipelines, Docker support, and integration with corporate SSO.
Open‑Source Hosting	Low overhead, federation, and a familiar GitHub‑like UI for contributors.
Educational Labs	Lightweight installation on campus servers, student accounts, and automatic repository cleanup.
Compliance‑Heavy Projects	On‑premise control, audit logs, and the ability to host on private clouds.

Advantages Over Alternatives

Performance: Single binary with Go’s efficient concurrency leads to lower latency and memory usage compared to Ruby‑based forges.
Simplicity: No external services required