[FFmpeg-devel] [POLL] [VOTE] code.ffmpeg.org

[Alexander Strasser]

On 2025-07-13 13:43 +0200, Michael Niedermayer wrote:
> Hi all
> 
> Do people want Forgejo or Gitlab on code.ffmpeg.org for testing?
> 
> F. code.ffmpeg.org should run Forgejo
> G. code.ffmpeg.org should run Gitlab

F.

* the UI is more intuitive IMHO and I suspect it will be to the
  majority of newcomers
* Gitlab follows the Open Core model which is prone to all kinds
  of unwanted developments
* I actually did look a little at the sources and didn't get far
  with Gitlab where in Forgejo I could find my way around easily

For Gitlab it was hard to find the source to begin with, when
starting at their website.

After multiple hops and wading through lists I ended up here:
  https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/

Later I randomly found out - by inspecting the README going to one
of their web pages because of a different reason - that there is
also:
  https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-foss/

For Forgejo it's scrolling down the home page and click a button
or on every page in the footer via "Community Code". You are
instantly on the repo hosted on Codeberg:
  https://codeberg.org/forgejo/forgejo

Some superficial stats from a bit of line counting to get a feeling:

            | SLOC without comments | backend | frontend |
----------- | --------------------- | ------- | -------- |
gitlab      |            ~4_600_000 |     70% |      30% |
gitlab-foss |            ~2_900_000 |     70% |      30% |
forgejo     |              ~416_440 |     90% |      10% |

To be fair, I didn't do any deeper analysis and be sure to take this
numbers with a grain of salt.

There is a mismatch of features etc. between these code bases and so
we cannot just compare them easily. There are lots of features in
Gitlab that we probably would never use. The ancestor of Forgejo is
Gogs. Gogs initially achieved something quite remarkable. It provided
a lot with very little. As far as I can judge this also transferred
and to its forks Gitea/Forgejo and still mostly holds.

If the Forgejo code base and project is the best in 5 years or in 10
years is not easily to be predicted today, but I would say the project
has good chances to be in good shape. Currently I don't see any clearly
better alternatives.


  Alexander