Apache Allura vs Forgejo
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted git hosting & forges options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Forgejo
Community-driven self-hosted software forge
| Feature | Apache Allura | Forgejo |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | Git Hosting & Forges | Git Hosting & Forges |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, binary, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 148 | ★ 5,000 |
| First released | 2012 | 2022 |
| Replaces | GitHub, SourceForge | GitHub, GitLab |
What are Apache Allura and Forgejo?
Apache Allura
Apache Allura is the software behind SourceForge, providing repository hosting, ticket tracking, wikis, and discussion forums. It supports Git, Mercurial, and Subversion repositories.
- Multi-VCS repository hosting
- Ticket tracking and wikis
- Discussion forums
- Pluggable tool architecture
Forgejo
Forgejo is a community-governed fork of Gitea providing a self-hosted Git forge with issues, pull requests, and CI. It targets developers wanting a fully community-controlled code platform. It is deployed via Docker or a single binary.
- Community-governed Gitea fork
- Forgejo Actions CI
- Federation in development
- Lightweight single binary
Apache Allura vs Forgejo: key differences
Apache Allura is written in Python, while Forgejo is built with Go. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Apache Allura versus GPL-3.0 for Forgejo. Forgejo is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for Apache Allura. Apache Allura is the more established project (first released 2012), while Forgejo arrived in 2022. Forgejo has the considerably larger community, at 5,000 GitHub stars versus 148.
Why pick each one
Choose Apache Allura if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Python
Choose Forgejo if…
- Strong community governance
- Lightweight and fast
- Active development
Watch out for
- Smaller ecosystem than Gitea
- Federation still maturing
Frequently asked questions
Is Apache Allura or Forgejo better?
Forgejo is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Apache Allura if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Apache Allura and Forgejo free and open-source?
Yes. Apache Allura is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Forgejo under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Apache Allura and Forgejo with Docker?
Apache Allura: yes. Forgejo: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Apache Allura or Forgejo?
Forgejo has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for Apache Allura. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.