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Why not GitHub?

mrcsharp 1y ago
Does it make a difference? More alternatives to Github is a good thing and alternatives mean nothing if no one is using them.
- frollogaston 1y ago
  It's impressive how much GitHub dominates with so little lock-in. It's so easy to add a new git remote. Yeah GitHub has its own features too, but for a long time free private repo wasn't one of them.
  - account42 1y ago
    The lock in are the network effects.
  - _kb 1y ago
    The lock in is issues, pull requests, and all the conversations that shape long term software projects. The actual implementation and what's tracked is often just what falls out of that.
  - necovek 1y ago
    So little lock-in? Git itself is simple, but is their .md file renderer open? Are their workflow runners available anywhere to re-use? The API also has gaps (esp if you wanted to migrate your PRs or Issues over), though I don't remember what was the thing I couldn't achieve with it. But I guess you are referring to indirect, incidental domination like "social" lock-in (I always smile at job application forms asking for a GitHub link — I've got thousands of free software commits in their own, dedicated software forges, but very few things on GitHub directly, or at least, in mirrors not tied to my GH account), "marketing" lock-in (I've heard many junior and not-so-junior engineers refer to GitHub as "Git"), etc...
    - jraph 1y ago
      > but is their .md file renderer open? This part seems mostly interoperable. GitHub's alternatives seem to have implemented something mostly compatible. If you migrate from github to gitlab or gogs or gitea or forgejo, that part will probably just work. Worst case, markdown is still mostly readable as is and a commit can fix the odd non working thing. But 100% agree with the rest of your comment. GitHub has managed to create a network effect by trying to be a social network and succeeding. They managed to create fomo for code hosting. This very HN post shows this.
jazzyjackson 1y ago
official reasoning is posted elsewhere, but GitHub means you rely on Microsoft. Forgejo is a fork of Gitea which is a clone of Github.
- arcastroe 1y ago
  Forgejo is a fork of Gitea, which is a fork of Gogs, which is a clone of Github
  - rice7th 1y ago
    Yes but it isn't controlled by it, that's the point.
xeonmc 1y ago
Oh boy do I have some recent news for you…
- prabinlamsal19 1y ago
  [flagged]
  - cornstalks 1y ago
    The FFmpeg culture is… very different. It’s hard to explain. But one hard requirement they had is that they did not want to give someone else control over their infrastructure. And it had to be open source. Only self hosting options were considered.
    - jraph 1y ago
      [It should be overly clear that] there's nothing special in wanting to have control in one's own processes, in wanting to avoid monopolies, and for free software projects to want to rely on free software. There are also many other reasons to want to avoid github specifically (there's at least a "github is down" thread every month on HN these days - having something that works at all is one of them). Many important free software projects use there own self hosted solution. I don't even understand how this is a question, and your parent comment is needlessly inflammatory and didn't deserve any answer.
  - ashton314 1y ago
    Lemme guess: you might think that everyone should just write their blogs on Substack, right? The web thrives on diversity. More forges is good. Furthermore, GitHub has been making moves that understandably worry some and so it’s great that there are some excellent alternatives.
    - KingMob 1y ago
      Bit of a side note, but nobody should use Substack for anything. For those out of the loop, Substack has been overlooking Nazis on their platform for a few years, and recently pushed a notification to all subscribers to check out a blog with a Nazi swastika. https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/07/substacks-nazi-problem-wont-go-away-after-push-notification-apology/ https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/07/substacks-nazi-p... https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/11/substack-extremism-nazi-white-supremacy-newsletters/676156/ https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/11/substack-e...
crabmusket 1y ago
Why GitHub?

Why not GitHub?

Does it make a difference? More alternatives to Github is a good thing and alternatives mean nothing if no one is using them.

frollogaston 1y ago
It's impressive how much GitHub dominates with so little lock-in. It's so easy to add a new git remote. Yeah GitHub has its own features too, but for a long time free private repo wasn't one of them.
- account42 1y ago
  The lock in are the network effects.
- _kb 1y ago
  The lock in is issues, pull requests, and all the conversations that shape long term software projects. The actual implementation and what's tracked is often just what falls out of that.
- necovek 1y ago
  So little lock-in? Git itself is simple, but is their .md file renderer open? Are their workflow runners available anywhere to re-use? The API also has gaps (esp if you wanted to migrate your PRs or Issues over), though I don't remember what was the thing I couldn't achieve with it. But I guess you are referring to indirect, incidental domination like "social" lock-in (I always smile at job application forms asking for a GitHub link — I've got thousands of free software commits in their own, dedicated software forges, but very few things on GitHub directly, or at least, in mirrors not tied to my GH account), "marketing" lock-in (I've heard many junior and not-so-junior engineers refer to GitHub as "Git"), etc...
  - jraph 1y ago
    > but is their .md file renderer open? This part seems mostly interoperable. GitHub's alternatives seem to have implemented something mostly compatible. If you migrate from github to gitlab or gogs or gitea or forgejo, that part will probably just work. Worst case, markdown is still mostly readable as is and a commit can fix the odd non working thing. But 100% agree with the rest of your comment. GitHub has managed to create a network effect by trying to be a social network and succeeding. They managed to create fomo for code hosting. This very HN post shows this.

jazzyjackson 1y ago

official reasoning is posted elsewhere, but GitHub means you rely on Microsoft. Forgejo is a fork of Gitea which is a clone of Github.

arcastroe 1y ago
Forgejo is a fork of Gitea, which is a fork of Gogs, which is a clone of Github
- rice7th 1y ago
  Yes but it isn't controlled by it, that's the point.

xeonmc 1y ago

Oh boy do I have some recent news for you…

prabinlamsal19 1y ago
[flagged]
- cornstalks 1y ago
  The FFmpeg culture is… very different. It’s hard to explain. But one hard requirement they had is that they did not want to give someone else control over their infrastructure. And it had to be open source. Only self hosting options were considered.
  - jraph 1y ago
    [It should be overly clear that] there's nothing special in wanting to have control in one's own processes, in wanting to avoid monopolies, and for free software projects to want to rely on free software. There are also many other reasons to want to avoid github specifically (there's at least a "github is down" thread every month on HN these days - having something that works at all is one of them). Many important free software projects use there own self hosted solution. I don't even understand how this is a question, and your parent comment is needlessly inflammatory and didn't deserve any answer.
- ashton314 1y ago
  Lemme guess: you might think that everyone should just write their blogs on Substack, right? The web thrives on diversity. More forges is good. Furthermore, GitHub has been making moves that understandably worry some and so it’s great that there are some excellent alternatives.
  - KingMob 1y ago
    Bit of a side note, but nobody should use Substack for anything. For those out of the loop, Substack has been overlooking Nazis on their platform for a few years, and recently pushed a notification to all subscribers to check out a blog with a Nazi swastika. https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/07/substacks-nazi-problem-wont-go-away-after-push-notification-apology/ https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/07/substacks-nazi-p... https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/11/substack-extremism-nazi-white-supremacy-newsletters/676156/ https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/11/substack-e...

crabmusket 1y ago

Why GitHub?