Move to European code repository?

General
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Last year it was noted that GitHub lost more of its independence. Some alternatives were proposed, but it remained quiet since.

However, the political landscape shifted even further since. I guess I don’t have to elaborate on that here. Also, we now have the J2, The independent European Do It Together (DIT) Linux phone, on its way. Yet the Sailfish main repository host is still GitHub.

Codeberg can be an alternative for GitHub. Run by a German non-profit, on German servers. Feature-wise they’ve recently added Forgejo Actions, more or less compatible with GitHub Actions. They also host Weblate for translations.

They also list alternatives. From what I read online is self-hosting Forgejo, the software which powers Codeberg, remarkably straight-forward and low maintenance (but you’ll be battling AI scrapers).

Does Jolla have plans to move to another non-big-tech code repository host for Sailfish?

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Why don’t you ask them in the community meeting instead of this topic they might miss.

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They wanted us to vote for it by clicking on the small heart :–)
This brings more weight to the proposal.
I guess both can be done. It’s a good proposal anyway.

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I’m at work during those meetings, and I don’t know a substitute. Still, I suppose Jolla reads their own forum?

But also, by posting here, I hope it triggers some people developing SFOS apps as well. Codeberg supports migrating from other services, such as GitHub.

(I know, it sounds like I have shares in Codeberg. But that’s the neat thing: you can’t :slight_smile: I’m just a happy user)

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You don’t need to be present to get a response. But true it won’t be interactive.

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SFOS could also just host their own git server.

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And then, how do you handle issues and PRs and such? I don’t think SFOS has the clout yet to demand using email for this, like the Linux kernel…

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Sigh. Though I use codeberg and generally think it’s a good idea, what do I do with the 50+ repositories using actions that I can not run on codeberg? Ok, well, I guess I could host my own. Sigh. Been there, done that. For me, getting the CI for free from github is a real win. In theory, I could setup my own forge (been there, done that) but the CI bit, even limiting it to exactly one set of needs (ie. only SFOS ubuntu images) is work. If I also want to support arduino builds, it starts getting hairy.

Now, it may come to the point where there is no choice. Let’s see what the yanks try in Greenland. But, then, CI may be the last of the issues.

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I do not know GitHub very well, but we are using on-prem GitLab and we have all possible CI/CD that we need. But I am not admin, just user, thus I cannot explain details.

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Recently Codeberg added Forgejo Actions for CI/CD, next to their existing Woodpecker CI. Forgejo Actions are largely compatible with GitHub actions, and at least share the same concepts.

I’ve just used it for a small Go project, so I can’t say whether it’s complete enough and has enough resources to build SFOS projects.

edit: You can specify custom runners in your Codeberg repository. So theoretically Jolla could host a Forgejo runner, and open it to SFOS developers upon request.

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This question makes no sense. Just to clarify, I was refering to one of the many (professional) solutions offered for self-hosting, not necessarily to git’s own web server.

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I think gitlab can offer most if not all of this.

edit: selfhosted of course

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right, that’s where it was before migration to github :slightly_smiling_face: it was probably self-hosted but it was definitely a gitlab

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Yup. I tried those. Not able to do the builds based on @coderus ubuntu images. I didn’t go very far, just to see what actions might work.

Yes it can and I have used gitlab. I don’t like it and it’s no improvement over github from the ownership perspective (ie. American).

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It’s open source, it’s as much yours as everyone else’s.

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Open source, but under control of a US corporation. Like Android. Yes you can fork it, but is that feasible to maintain?

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I’m talking about the ‘service’. I get a lot of mileage for 0 money out of github. Obviously, I could just set up my own OBS and one of a number of git frontends (been there). But, I’m trying to reduce my devops footprint…

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Both Android and GitLab are open core - that means that if you want the full package you don’t have control over the whole thing (and no, not even if you fork or self-host)

Aside from that, if Jolla wanted to self-host, GitLab is not resource-friendly. Using something like Gitea/Forgejo/gogs or sourcehut would be a better idea both from a resource and a free/open source standpoint

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I meant self-hosted gitlab of course. It’s FOSS*, unlike github, and therefore already a huge step away from questionable US dependency.

But that user asked for multiple features that are otherwise only available on github, and gitlab is - afaik - still - the most feature-rich alternative. That said, I haven’t tried others that might be up there as well.
Just see what’s available and what best meets your idea of perfect.

Otherwise:

:musical_notes: He wants a shoehorn / the kind with teeth / cause he knows there’s no such thing :musical_notes:

But i’d also understand if SFOS/Jollyboys just don’t want the hassle of self-hosting (anymore). And in that case I’m also sure there’s plenty of nice options that are FOSS, not US dependent, preferably Europe-based. Because github is really about the worst choice in that respect.

That, of course, goes for all developers whose sole base is on github, and even more so if they’re European and care for transparency and FOSS.

* yes, the community edition is fully FOSS. I am hosting my stuff on this CE instance and - while I’m far from utilizing its advanced features - afaics it has a lot of them.