NotABug: A Comprehensive Guide to Free and Community-Driven Code Hosting

By Pashalis Laoutaris | August 8, 2025 | Category: GitHub Alternatives | 12 min read

Editor’s Note: This article is part of our definitive guide to GitHub Alternatives. Click here to read the main overview.

This article provides an in-depth look at NotABug.org, a free-software code collaboration platform. It explores its core principles, technical foundation, features, and its vision for a decentralized future, offering a comprehensive resource for developers seeking alternatives to mainstream code hosting services.

Introduction
What is NotABug?
Key Features and Functionality
Technical Architecture and Implementation
NotABug 2.0: Vision for Decentralization
Comparison with Other Code Hosting Platforms
User Experience and Community
Challenges and Criticisms
Future Prospects and Development
Conclusion
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
References

I. Introduction

In a digital landscape dominated by a few major players, NotABug.org emerges as a distinctive code collaboration platform dedicated to the principles of the free software movement. It provides a home for developers and projects that operate under free licenses, positioning itself not just as a service, but as part of a broader philosophy supporting software freedom and digital autonomy. This guide is for developers, open-source advocates, and anyone curious about community-driven alternatives to corporate-owned code hosting platforms.

II. What is NotABug?

NotABug Homepage

A. Core Identity and Mission

NotABug.org is a free-software code collaboration platform designed exclusively for freely licensed projects. Its mission is to support the development and distribution of software under licenses that meet the Free Software Definition, such as the GPL, MIT, and BSD licenses. This strict focus on free software distinguishes it from mainstream platforms that host a mix of open-source and proprietary projects. The underlying philosophy is a commitment to a “free society,” where software and culture are shared openly for the benefit of all.

B. Technical Foundation

The platform is built upon Gogs (Go Git Service), a lightweight, self-hosted Git service written in the Go programming language. The goal of Gogs is to provide an easy, fast, and painless way of setting up a self-hosted Git service. NotABug runs its own “liberated version” of Gogs, which includes custom modifications, with the source code always available on the platform itself.

C. Organizational Structure

NotABug.org is operated by “Peers,” a community group dedicated to advancing free software and free culture. This community-driven, non-profit ethos means operations are handled by a small team of administrators and volunteer contributors. This structure reflects a commitment to grassroots governance rather than corporate control, aligning with the core principles of the projects it hosts.

III. Key Features and Functionality

NotABug provides a comprehensive suite of tools necessary for modern software development and collaboration, based on its Gogs foundation.

A. Core Git Services

Repository Hosting: Users can create and manage unlimited public repositories for their free software projects. Private repositories are also available with certain size limitations.

Version Control: Full support for the Git version control system, including branch management, merging, and tagging.
Issue Tracking: A built-in issue tracker allows for project management, bug reporting, and feature requests.

B. Collaboration Features

Pull Requests: A standard pull request system facilitates code contributions, reviews, and discussions.
User and Organization Accounts: Developers can manage personal projects under their own accounts or collaborate within organization accounts.
Project Wikis: Each repository can have its own wiki for documentation, guides, and other project-related information.
Webhooks: Integration with services like Slack and Discord is possible through repository and organization webhooks.

C. User Interface

NotABug User Interface

The platform offers a clean, web-based interface for browsing repositories, exploring code, and discovering new projects. User profiles allow developers to showcase their work and contributions.

IV. Technical Architecture and Implementation

A. Gogs Foundation

NotABug’s architecture is fundamentally shaped by Gogs. The choice of Go as the implementation language for Gogs offers significant benefits, including high performance and cross-platform compatibility, allowing it to run on Linux, macOS, and Windows with a single binary. Its self-hosted nature is a key tenet, empowering users and organizations to run their own instances, which aligns with the principles of decentralization.

B. Custom Modifications

NotABug runs a fork of Gogs, allowing its administrators to implement specific features, security patches, and efficiency optimizations tailored to their community’s needs. These modifications ensure the platform remains aligned with its mission and can integrate with the broader Peers Community infrastructure.

C. Hosting and Infrastructure

The platform is maintained by its community administrators. It offers access via the standard web and also through a Tor hidden service for enhanced privacy. While it provides a reliable service for its user base, as a volunteer-run project, it may face limitations in performance and resources compared to commercial giants. Public repositories are generally limited to around 1GB, though exceptions can be made by contacting the administrators.

V. NotABug 2.0: Vision for Decentralization

The NotABug team has articulated a vision for “NotABug 2.0,” aimed at overcoming the limitations of centralized hosting.

A. Current Limitations of Centralized Hosting

The traditional code hosting model, even for open-source services, creates a centralized “hub.” This creates dependencies on a single entity and a canonical upstream source, making projects vulnerable to platform shutdowns or changes in policy, as seen with the closure of Google Code.

B. Proposed Decentralized Model

NotABug 2.0 envisions a federated network of Git instances that mirrors Git’s own distributed nature. In this model, users could host their own server or use an account on a public instance and collaborate seamlessly with users on other instances. This would allow for actions like forking a repository, opening an issue, or sending a pull request to a foreign repository without needing an account on that specific host.

C. Implementation Challenges and Goals

Creating a truly decentralized and federated hosting network presents significant technical challenges. The design goals for NotABug 2.0 prioritize transparent authentication across instances, trivial setup for self-hosting, and ensuring users only need to trust their “home-server.” This ambitious roadmap aims to push the boundaries of what a code collaboration platform can be, though development is dependent on volunteer effort.

VI. Comparison with Other Code Hosting Platforms

A. Major Competitors

GitHub: The market leader, owned by Microsoft, known for its vast ecosystem, extensive integrations (like GitHub Actions), and massive user base.
GitLab: A strong competitor offering a comprehensive DevOps platform with both SaaS and self-hosted options, popular in enterprise environments.
Codeberg: A non-profit, Gitea-based platform from Germany with a very similar mission to NotABug, focusing exclusively on free and open-source software. Codeberg is often seen as a close alternative, built on a fork of Gogs (Gitea).
SourceForge: A legacy platform that has been a long-standing host for open-source projects.

B. Unique Value Propositions

NotABug’s key differentiators are philosophical and structural:

Unyielding Commitment to Free Software: Unlike GitHub or GitLab, NotABug only hosts freely licensed projects, ensuring ideological alignment.
Community Governance: It is run by a community, for the community, contrasting sharply with the corporate ownership of major platforms.
Decentralization Vision: The NotABug 2.0 plan is a forward-thinking vision for a federated web that sets it apart from the centralized model of its competitors.

C. Limitations and Trade-offs

Choosing NotABug involves some trade-offs:

Smaller Ecosystem: It has a smaller user base and fewer integrations than GitHub or GitLab.
Limited Enterprise Features: The platform lacks the advanced, enterprise-focused features common on larger platforms.
Resource Constraints: As a volunteer-run, non-profit service, development and support can be slower and infrastructure less robust than its commercially-backed rivals.

VII. User Experience and Community

A. Getting Started

Creating an account and setting up a new repository on NotABug is a straightforward process, familiar to anyone who has used other Git hosting services. The platform also supports repository migration, allowing users to mirror projects from other sites.

B. Community Dynamics

The projects hosted on NotABug are often those with a strong ideological commitment to software freedom. One can find repositories for fully-libre Linux distributions, privacy tools, and projects by members of the free software community. The platform maintains a code of conduct to ensure a harassment-free experience for all users.

C. Project Examples

NotABug hosts the official repositories for the Peers Community itself, as well as mirrors and primary repositories for projects like Libreboot and various free software distributions.

VIII. Challenges and Criticisms

A. Sustainability Concerns

Like many non-profit, volunteer-driven projects, long-term sustainability is a primary challenge. The platform’s funding model relies on the resources of the Peers community and its administrators. Ensuring the financial and operational stability to maintain infrastructure and scale is a constant consideration for such projects.

B. Feature Gaps

While NotABug provides all the core functionalities for code hosting, it may lack some of the polished, cutting-edge features and third-party integrations (like advanced CI/CD pipelines) that developers have come to expect from platforms like GitHub.

C. Adoption Barriers

The powerful network effects of GitHub present a significant barrier to adoption. Many developers prefer to keep their work where the largest audience and potential contributor base resides. Migrating to a smaller platform can feel isolating for projects seeking broad community engagement.

IX. Future Prospects and Development

A. NotABug 2.0 Roadmap

The most significant future prospect is the realization of the NotABug 2.0 vision for a federated network. Achieving technical milestones towards this goal will be a key indicator of the platform’s long-term trajectory. Development relies on community involvement, and progress can be tracked through their repositories and communication channels.

B. Role in the Broader Free Software Ecosystem

NotABug serves as a vital piece of independent infrastructure in the free software world. It acts as an advocate for software freedom not just in words, but by providing a practical tool that embodies those principles. Its existence champions digital rights and reduces the ecosystem’s dependency on corporate-controlled platforms.

C. Potential Impact

If successful, the decentralized model of NotABug 2.0 could serve as a blueprint for other community-driven services, influencing a move towards a more resilient and distributed web. It offers a tangible contribution to digital autonomy for developers and users alike.

X. Conclusion

A. Summary of Key Points

NotABug.org is more than a code hosting service; it is a community-driven platform with a strong ideological foundation in free software. Built on the lightweight Gogs service and run by the Peers community, it provides a stable, functional home for freely licensed projects. Its most compelling aspect is its future-facing vision for a truly decentralized and federated collaboration network.

B. Recommendations

Developers should consider NotABug when:

Their project is, and always will be, licensed under a free software license.
They prioritize community governance and philosophical alignment over a massive user base.
They wish to support independent, non-commercial infrastructure for the free software movement.

Users can support the platform by hosting their projects there, contributing to the NotABug source code, or participating in the Peers Community.

C. Final Thoughts

The importance of having diverse, independent hosting options cannot be overstated. NotABug.org represents a critical choice in the software development ecosystem, offering a refuge from corporate consolidation and a platform built on the principles of freedom and community. It is a testament to the ongoing effort to build a digital world that is not only open source, but also genuinely autonomous.

XI. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: Is NotABug.org free to use? Yes, NotABug.org is a free service for hosting freely licensed software projects.

Q2: Who runs NotABug.org? It is run by Peers, a community group dedicated to free software and free culture, and is primarily administered by a small team of volunteers.

Q3: How is NotABug different from GitHub? The main differences are philosophical and structural. NotABug only hosts free-software projects, is run by a non-profit community instead of a corporation, and has a future vision for a decentralized, federated network.

Q4: What is Gogs? Gogs is a lightweight, self-hosted Git service written in the Go programming language. NotABug uses a modified version of Gogs as its technical foundation.

Q5: What is NotABug 2.0? NotABug 2.0 is the platform’s vision for a decentralized, federated network of Git instances. The goal is to allow users on different servers to collaborate without needing to create accounts on each other’s instances, mirroring the distributed nature of Git itself.

Q6: Can I host a private project on NotABug? Yes, NotABug allows for private repositories, though they are subject to smaller size limits than public ones (currently around 100MB).

XII. References

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