Gogs vs SourceHut
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted git hosting & forges options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Gogs | SourceHut |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Category | Git Hosting & Forges | Git Hosting & Forges |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, bare-metal | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 47,824 | ★ 2,000 |
| First released | 2014 | 2018 |
| Replaces | GitHub, Bitbucket | GitHub, GitLab |
What are Gogs and SourceHut?
Gogs
Gogs is a lightweight, easy-to-install Git hosting service written in Go. It runs on minimal hardware including a Raspberry Pi and ships as a single binary.
- Single binary deployment
- Runs on low-power hardware
- Built-in issue tracker
- Webhook support
SourceHut
SourceHut is a software development suite consisting of Git/Mercurial hosting, mailing lists, CI, bug tracking, and more. It is designed to be lightweight, JavaScript-free, and email-driven.
- Email-driven workflow
- No JavaScript required
- Git and Mercurial support
- Integrated CI builds
Gogs vs SourceHut: key differences
Gogs is written in Go, while SourceHut is built with Python. Licensing differs — MIT for Gogs versus AGPL-3.0 for SourceHut. Gogs is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for SourceHut. Gogs is the more established project (first released 2014), while SourceHut arrived in 2018. Gogs has the considerably larger community, at 47,824 GitHub stars versus 2,000. Gogs lists first-class Docker deployment; SourceHut does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Gogs if…
- Extremely lightweight
- Simple to install
Watch out for
- Slower feature development than forks
Choose SourceHut if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Active community (2k GitHub stars)
- Written in Python
Frequently asked questions
Is Gogs or SourceHut better?
Gogs is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider SourceHut if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Gogs and SourceHut free and open-source?
Yes. Gogs is licensed under MIT and SourceHut under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Gogs and SourceHut with Docker?
Gogs: yes. SourceHut: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Gogs or SourceHut?
Gogs has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for SourceHut. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.