Soft launch of open-source code platform for government
A self-hosted Forgejo pilot aims to replace GitHub for public sector development.
The Dutch government has soft-launched code.overheid.nl, a dedicated open-source code platform designed for publishing and developing government software. The platform is fully self-hosted, using Forgejo—an open-source, European, and sovereign alternative to commercial giants like GitHub and GitLab. This move directly supports digital sovereignty by ensuring government code remains under public control, hosted within the Netherlands.
Currently in a pilot phase, the platform is not yet open to all government organizations. Developers are actively invited to contribute and help shape the platform, with the long-term goal of evolving it into a shared Git platform for all government bodies. The initiative is led by the Open Source Program Office at the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK), in collaboration with DAWO (SSC-ICT), Opensourcewerken, and developer.overheid.nl.
- Platform code.overheid.nl is a self-hosted, sovereign alternative to GitHub using Forgejo.
- Currently a pilot, it invites developer contributions to build a shared government Git platform.
- Led by the Ministry of the Interior (BZK) with partners DAWO and Opensourcewerken.
Why It Matters
Digital sovereignty in public code—reducing reliance on US cloud giants for critical government infrastructure.