July 9, 2026
Commitment issues, but for code
Why developers are ditching GitHub for Codeberg and self-hosting alternatives
GitHub looks huge, but fed-up coders say the vibes, outages, and trust are gone
TLDR: Major projects are starting to leave GitHub for smaller rivals and self-run sites, driven by outages, politics, and frustration with the platform. In the comments, people were split between angry distrust, dark political criticism, and jokes that GitHub’s growth numbers may be padded by spam.
GitHub may still be the giant of code-sharing, but the comment section is serving full breakup energy. Big projects like Ghostty, Zig, and Tenacity are moving out or leaving behind read-only mirrors, and the crowd reaction is basically: finally, someone said it. The loudest complaint isn’t just political drama or artificial intelligence hype — it’s that people feel the site keeps getting in the way of actually making software. One developer said their organization’s automated testing was shut off for three weeks after an outside contributor was wrongly banned, and claimed nothing happened until they made noise on Twitter. For many readers, that wasn’t a one-off horror story — it was proof that GitHub has become too big, too opaque, and too hard to trust.
The hottest takes got even spicier from there. Some commenters mocked GitHub’s brag that a new user joins every second, joking that it might really mean a new spam account every second. Others went straight for the political jugular, dragging Microsoft’s past ties to U.S. immigration enforcement back into the spotlight and arguing this isn’t just about bugs or downtime, but about values. Meanwhile, one gloriously blunt rebel announced they’ve ditched GitHub for personal projects entirely: no stars, no profile-building, no “gamified crap,” just offline backups and peace of mind. And then there was the driest joke in the thread: after reports of 112 hours of downtime, one commenter deadpanned, “I guess three nines availability is important.” Nerd humor, but make it cutting.
Key Points
- •The article says GitHub remains highly popular, with one new user every second, more than 600 million repositories, and nearly one billion commits in 2025.
- •Several projects, including Ghostty, Zig, and Tenacity, have left or are leaving GitHub while often keeping read-only mirrors there.
- •The article cites technical reliability, especially reported outages, as a major reason some maintainers are moving away from GitHub.
- •Political concerns, including GitHub’s relationship with ICE and broader concerns tied to Microsoft ownership, are presented as another reason for departures.
- •AI integration, especially through Copilot and statements from CEO Thomas Dohmke, is cited as a further source of dissatisfaction, while Codeberg and self-hosting are presented as alternatives.