How to Self-Host Forgejo: Community Git Forge 2026

TL;DR

Forgejo (GPL 3.0, ~11K GitHub stars, Go) is the community-driven fork of Gitea — created in 2022 when Gitea's core team moved to a for-profit model. Forgejo is 100% volunteer-run and a Codeberg project. It's functionally near-identical to Gitea (same Docker image, same API, same YAML CI syntax) but with a stronger governance model, more active federation work, and stricter open-source principles. If you want Gitea's features but prefer a community project with no corporate backing, Forgejo is the choice.

Key Takeaways

• Forgejo: GPL 3.0, ~11K stars — Gitea fork with community governance and no corporate backing
• Drop-in Gitea replacement: Same Docker config, same API, same CI YAML — migrates in minutes
• Forgejo Actions: GitHub Actions-compatible CI/CD (same as Gitea Actions)
• Federation: Actively working on ActivityPub federation (F3 protocol) for cross-forge PRs
• Codeberg hosted: codeberg.org runs Forgejo — the largest public instance
• Migration: Migrate from Gitea by just switching the Docker image tag

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Forgejo vs Gitea

Aspect	Forgejo	Gitea
License	GPL 3.0	MIT
Governance	Nonprofit/community	Gitea Inc. (for-profit)
GitHub Stars	~11K	~43K
Gitea compatibility	Near 100%	—
CI/CD	Forgejo Actions (GH Actions compatible)	Gitea Actions (GH Actions compatible)
ActivityPub federation	Active development	Experimental
Public instance	codeberg.org	gitea.com
Release cadence	More frequent patches	Quarterly

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Part 1: Docker Setup

Forgejo uses the same configuration structure as Gitea — just swap the image:

# docker-compose.yml
services:
  forgejo:
    image: codeberg.org/forgejo/forgejo:latest
    container_name: forgejo
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
      - "2222:22"
    volumes:
      - forgejo_data:/data
      - /etc/timezone:/etc/timezone:ro
      - /etc/localtime:/etc/localtime:ro
    environment:
      USER_UID: 1000
      USER_GID: 1000
      FORGEJO__database__DB_TYPE: postgres
      FORGEJO__database__HOST: postgres:5432
      FORGEJO__database__NAME: forgejo
      FORGEJO__database__USER: forgejo
      FORGEJO__database__PASSWD: "${POSTGRES_PASSWORD}"
      FORGEJO__server__DOMAIN: "git.yourdomain.com"
      FORGEJO__server__ROOT_URL: "https://git.yourdomain.com"
      FORGEJO__server__SSH_DOMAIN: "git.yourdomain.com"
      FORGEJO__server__SSH_PORT: 2222
      FORGEJO__server__HTTP_PORT: 3000
      FORGEJO__service__DISABLE_REGISTRATION: "false"   # Enable for initial setup
      FORGEJO__federation__ENABLED: "true"              # Enable ActivityPub federation
    depends_on:
      postgres:
        condition: service_healthy

  postgres:
    image: postgres:16-alpine
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      POSTGRES_USER: forgejo
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: "${POSTGRES_PASSWORD}"
      POSTGRES_DB: forgejo
    volumes:
      - postgres_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U forgejo"]
      interval: 10s
      start_period: 20s

volumes:
  forgejo_data:
  postgres_data:

# .env
POSTGRES_PASSWORD=your-secure-db-password

docker compose up -d

Visit http://your-server:3000 → complete the installation wizard.

---

Part 2: HTTPS with Caddy

git.yourdomain.com {
    reverse_proxy localhost:3000
}

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Part 3: Migrate from Gitea

If you're already running Gitea, migration is a single image swap:

# 1. Stop Gitea:
docker compose stop gitea

# 2. Backup data:
tar -czf gitea-backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz \
  $(docker volume inspect gitea_gitea_data --format '{{.Mountpoint}}')

# 3. Update docker-compose.yml:
# Change: image: gitea/gitea:latest
# To:     image: codeberg.org/forgejo/forgejo:latest
# Change: GITEA__* env vars to FORGEJO__*

# 4. Start Forgejo with existing data volume:
docker compose up -d

# Forgejo auto-migrates Gitea database schema

Env var prefix change: Gitea uses GITEA__ prefix, Forgejo uses FORGEJO__ prefix. All other settings are identical.

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Part 4: Forgejo Actions (CI/CD)

Enable Forgejo Actions (GitHub Actions-compatible):

environment:
  FORGEJO__actions__ENABLED: "true"

Run a Forgejo Runner

# Add to docker-compose.yml:
services:
  forgejo-runner:
    image: code.forgejo.org/forgejo/runner:latest
    container_name: forgejo_runner
    restart: unless-stopped
    volumes:
      - ./runner-config.yaml:/config.yaml
      - forgejo_runner_data:/data
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
    environment:
      CONFIG_FILE: /config.yaml
      FORGEJO_INSTANCE_URL: "https://git.yourdomain.com"
      FORGEJO_RUNNER_REGISTRATION_TOKEN: "${RUNNER_TOKEN}"
      FORGEJO_RUNNER_NAME: "docker-runner"

# Register runner (get token from Site Administration → Runners):
docker exec forgejo_runner forgejo-runner register \
  --instance https://git.yourdomain.com \
  --token YOUR_RUNNER_TOKEN \
  --name docker-runner \
  --labels ubuntu-latest:docker://node:20-bullseye

Workflow example (GitHub Actions compatible)

# .forgejo/workflows/ci.yml
# Identical syntax to GitHub Actions / Gitea Actions
name: CI

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]
  pull_request:

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - name: Run tests
        run: |
          npm ci
          npm test
          npm run build

  release:
    if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/main'
    needs: test
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - name: Create release
        uses: https://codeberg.org/forgejo/forgejo-action-release@v1
        with:
          direction: release

---

Part 5: ActivityPub Federation

Forgejo is building F3 (Federated Forge Format) — cross-forge pull requests and issues:

environment:
  FORGEJO__federation__ENABLED: "true"

What federation enables (current state):

• Your Forgejo instance is discoverable via ActivityPub
• Users on other Forgejo/Gitea instances can be @mentioned cross-instance
• Cross-forge stars (experimental)

Roadmap: Full cross-forge pull requests (PR from alice@other-forge.com to a repo on your instance) — the ForgeFed protocol specification.

# Verify federation is working:
curl https://git.yourdomain.com/.well-known/webfinger?resource=acct:admin@git.yourdomain.com
# Returns: ActivityPub WebFinger response

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Part 6: Packages and Registries

Forgejo includes multiple package registries:

# Container registry:
docker login git.yourdomain.com
docker push git.yourdomain.com/username/myimage:latest

# npm registry:
npm config set @myorg:registry https://git.yourdomain.com/api/packages/username/npm/
npm login --scope=@myorg --registry=https://git.yourdomain.com/api/packages/username/npm/
npm publish --scope=@myorg

# PyPI:
pip install --index-url https://username:token@git.yourdomain.com/api/packages/username/pypi/simple/ mypackage

# Maven (in pom.xml):
# <repository>
#   <id>forgejo</id>
#   <url>https://git.yourdomain.com/api/packages/username/maven</url>
# </repository>

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Part 7: Migrate from GitHub

# Single repo via UI:
# + → New Migration → GitHub → enter URL + token

# Bulk migration script (same as Gitea):
#!/bin/bash
GITHUB_TOKEN="ghp_yourtoken"
FORGEJO_URL="https://git.yourdomain.com"
FORGEJO_TOKEN="your-forgejo-token"

REPOS=$(curl -s -H "Authorization: token $GITHUB_TOKEN" \
  "https://api.github.com/user/repos?per_page=100" | jq -r '.[].full_name')

for REPO in $REPOS; do
  curl -X POST "${FORGEJO_URL}/api/v1/repos/migrate" \
    -H "Authorization: token ${FORGEJO_TOKEN}" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d "{
      \"clone_addr\": \"https://github.com/${REPO}\",
      \"auth_token\": \"${GITHUB_TOKEN}\",
      \"repo_name\": \"$(echo $REPO | cut -d/ -f2)\",
      \"mirror\": false,
      \"issues\": true,
      \"pull_requests\": true,
      \"releases\": true
    }"
done

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Part 8: OAuth2 / SSO

Forgejo supports multiple OAuth2 providers:

# Via app.ini or env vars:
FORGEJO__oauth2__ENABLED: "true"

# Add provider via admin UI:
# Site Administration → Authentication Sources → Add Authentication Source
# → OAuth2 → GitHub / GitLab / Gitea / Keycloak / custom OIDC

# Example: Authentik as OIDC provider
environment:
  FORGEJO__oauth2__ENABLED: "true"

In Authentik:

1. Applications → Providers → Create → OAuth2/OpenID Provider
2. Redirect URI: https://git.yourdomain.com/user/oauth2/authentik/callback
3. Copy Client ID + Secret to Forgejo OAuth2 settings

---

Maintenance

# Update Forgejo:
docker compose pull
docker compose up -d

# Backup:
docker compose stop forgejo
tar -czf forgejo-backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz \
  $(docker volume inspect forgejo_forgejo_data --format '{{.Mountpoint}}')
docker exec forgejo-postgres-1 pg_dump -U forgejo forgejo \
  | gzip > forgejo-db-$(date +%Y%m%d).sql.gz
docker compose start forgejo

# Logs:
docker compose logs -f forgejo

# Admin CLI:
docker exec -u git forgejo forgejo admin user create \
  --username alice --email alice@yourdomain.com --password secret --admin

Why Self-Host Forgejo?

The case for self-hosting Forgejo comes down to three practical factors: data ownership, cost at scale, and operational control.

Data ownership is the fundamental argument. When you use a SaaS version of any tool, your data lives on someone else's infrastructure subject to their terms of service, their security practices, and their business continuity. If the vendor raises prices, gets acquired, changes API limits, or shuts down, you're left scrambling. Self-hosting Forgejo means your data and configuration stay on infrastructure you control — whether that's a VPS, a bare metal server, or a home lab.

Cost at scale matters once you move beyond individual use. Most SaaS equivalents charge per user or per data volume. A self-hosted instance on a $10-20/month VPS typically costs less than per-user SaaS pricing for teams of five or more — and the cost doesn't scale linearly with usage. One well-configured server handles dozens of users for a flat monthly fee.

Operational control is the third factor. The Docker Compose configuration above exposes every setting that commercial equivalents often hide behind enterprise plans: custom networking, environment variables, storage backends, and authentication integrations. You decide when to update, how to configure backups, and what access controls to apply.

The honest tradeoff: you're responsible for updates, backups, and availability. For teams running any production workloads, this is familiar territory. For individuals, the learning curve is real but the tooling (Docker, Caddy, automated backups) is well-documented and widely supported.

Server Requirements and Sizing

Before deploying Forgejo, assess your server capacity against expected workload.

Minimum viable setup: A 1 vCPU, 1GB RAM VPS with 20GB SSD is sufficient for personal use or small teams. Most consumer VPS providers — Hetzner, DigitalOcean, Linode, Vultr — offer machines in this range for $5-10/month. Hetzner offers excellent price-to-performance for European and US regions.

Recommended production setup: 2 vCPUs with 4GB RAM and 40GB SSD handles most medium deployments without resource contention. This gives Forgejo headroom for background tasks, caching, and concurrent users while leaving capacity for other services on the same host.

Storage planning: The Docker volumes in this docker-compose.yml store all persistent Forgejo data. Estimate your storage growth rate early — for data-intensive tools, budget for 3-5x your initial estimate. Hetzner Cloud and Vultr both support online volume resizing without stopping your instance.

Operating system: Any modern 64-bit Linux distribution works. Ubuntu 22.04 LTS and Debian 12 are the most commonly tested configurations. Ensure Docker Engine 24.0+ and Docker Compose v2 are installed — verify with docker --version and docker compose version. Avoid Docker Desktop on production Linux servers; it adds virtualization overhead and behaves differently from Docker Engine in ways that cause subtle networking issues.

Network: Only ports 80 and 443 need to be publicly accessible when running behind a reverse proxy. Internal service ports should be bound to localhost only. A minimal UFW firewall that blocks all inbound traffic except SSH, HTTP, and HTTPS is the single most effective security measure for a self-hosted server.

Backup and Disaster Recovery

Running Forgejo without a tested backup strategy is an unacceptable availability risk. Docker volumes are not automatically backed up — if you delete a volume or the host fails, data is gone with no recovery path.

What to back up: The named Docker volumes containing Forgejo's data (database files, user uploads, application state), your docker-compose.yml and any customized configuration files, and .env files containing secrets.

Backup approach: For simple setups, stop the container, archive the volume contents, then restart. For production environments where stopping causes disruption, use filesystem snapshots or database dump commands (PostgreSQL pg_dump, SQLite .backup, MySQL mysqldump) that produce consistent backups without downtime.

For a complete automated backup workflow that ships snapshots to S3-compatible object storage, see the Restic + Rclone backup guide. Restic handles deduplication and encryption; Rclone handles multi-destination uploads. The same setup works for any Docker volume.

Backup cadence: Daily backups to remote storage are a reasonable baseline for actively used tools. Use a 30-day retention window minimum — long enough to recover from mistakes discovered weeks later. For critical data, extend to 90 days and use a secondary destination.

Restore testing: A backup that has never been restored is a backup you cannot trust. Once a month, restore your Forgejo backup to a separate Docker Compose stack on different ports and verify the data is intact. This catches silent backup failures, script errors, and volume permission issues before they matter in a real recovery.

Security Hardening

Self-hosting means you are responsible for Forgejo's security posture. The Docker Compose setup provides a functional base; production deployments need additional hardening.

Always use a reverse proxy: Never expose Forgejo's internal port directly to the internet. The docker-compose.yml binds to localhost; Caddy or Nginx provides HTTPS termination. Direct HTTP access transmits credentials in plaintext. A reverse proxy also centralizes TLS management, rate limiting, and access logging.

Strong credentials: Change default passwords immediately after first login. For secrets in docker-compose environment variables, generate random values with openssl rand -base64 32 rather than reusing existing passwords.

Firewall configuration:

ufw default deny incoming
ufw allow 22/tcp
ufw allow 80/tcp
ufw allow 443/tcp
ufw enable

Internal service ports (databases, admin panels, internal APIs) should only be reachable from localhost or the Docker network, never directly from the internet.

Network isolation: Docker Compose named networks keep Forgejo's services isolated from other containers on the same host. Database containers should not share networks with containers that don't need direct database access.

VPN access for sensitive services: For internal-only tools, restricting access to a VPN adds a strong second layer. Headscale is an open source Tailscale control server that puts your self-hosted stack behind a WireGuard mesh, eliminating public internet exposure for internal tools.

Update discipline: Subscribe to Forgejo's GitHub releases page to receive security advisory notifications. Schedule a monthly maintenance window to pull updated images. Running outdated container images is the most common cause of self-hosted service compromises.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Container exits immediately or won't start

Check logs first — they almost always explain the failure:

docker compose logs -f forgejo

Common causes: a missing required environment variable, a port already in use, or a volume permission error. Port conflicts appear as bind: address already in use. Find the conflicting process with ss -tlpn | grep PORT and either stop it or change Forgejo's port mapping in docker-compose.yml.

Cannot reach the web interface

Work through this checklist:

1. Confirm the container is running: docker compose ps
2. Test locally on the server: curl -I http://localhost:PORT
3. If local access works but external doesn't, check your firewall: ufw status
4. If using a reverse proxy, verify it's running and the config is valid: caddy validate --config /etc/caddy/Caddyfile

Permission errors on volume mounts

Some containers run as a non-root user. If the Docker volume is owned by root, the container process cannot write to it. Find the volume's host path with docker volume inspect VOLUME_NAME, check the tool's documentation for its expected UID, and apply correct ownership:

chown -R 1000:1000 /var/lib/docker/volumes/your_volume/_data

High resource usage over time

Memory or CPU growing continuously usually indicates unconfigured log rotation, an unbound cache, or accumulated data needing pruning. Check current usage with docker stats forgejo. Add resource limits in docker-compose.yml to prevent one container from starving others. For ongoing visibility into resource trends, deploy Prometheus + Grafana or Netdata.

Data disappears after container restart

Data stored in the container's writable layer — rather than a named volume — is lost when the container is removed or recreated. This happens when the volume mount path in docker-compose.yml doesn't match where the application writes data. Verify mount paths against the tool's documentation and correct the mapping. Named volumes persist across container removal; only docker compose down -v deletes them.

Keeping Forgejo Updated

Forgejo follows a regular release cadence. Staying current matters for security patches and compatibility. The update process with Docker Compose is straightforward:

docker compose pull          # Download updated images
docker compose up -d         # Restart with new images
docker image prune -f        # Remove old image layers (optional)

Read the changelog before major version updates. Some releases include database migrations or breaking configuration changes. For major version bumps, test in a staging environment first — run a copy of the service on different ports with the same volume data to validate the migration before touching production.

Version pinning: For stability, pin to a specific image tag in docker-compose.yml instead of latest. Update deliberately after reviewing the changelog. This trades automatic patch delivery for predictable behavior — the right call for business-critical services.

Post-update verification: After updating, confirm Forgejo is functioning correctly. Most services expose a /health endpoint that returns HTTP 200 — curl it from the server or monitor it with your uptime tool.

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