Top 10 GitHub Alternatives That You Can Consider

Github is a collaborative, powerful, and open-source web-based platform that uses Git, the open-source version control software. Even Wikipedia concluded that there are over 40 million users actively using Github and its more than 180 million private and public repositories as of January 2020. This shows that people are interested more in hosting their open-source projects either of Development or Quality Assurance on this platform featuring real-time collaboration, robustness in task management, and precision in bug-tracking. However, people still ask Google or other search engines if there are alternatives to this feature-rich platform bound to unexpected changes in the field of technology.

The reasons for searching the alternatives to Github could be many but the one that seems most real is its confusing UI. Due to this, either the code’s text gets lost or the browser is painfully accepting the source code repositories. And all the blame is on the potential of Github. Will that be beneficial to curate a list of top Github alternatives and then, review each of them keeping in mind factors like performance, bug and project management, hosting the source code repositories well, and much more? If you are already thinking like this, then the alternatives below-mentioned mustn’t be ignored, and rather, you must review them once.  

1. GitLab

GitLab is a free and open-source alternative for Github whose user-supported design guarantees higher availability of 99.69 percent uptime. You may now question why UPTIME is important and the answer is that such a higher uptime offered by GitLab ensures that the cost and consequences faced by many businesses due to higher downtime can positively be replaced without any objections. Besides, this amazing GITHUB-ALTERNATIVE is secure, reliable, fast, as well as active while offering support to its more than 20,000 users anywhere, anytime they wish for it!! What else one may expect from this tool helping a lot of developers and other software aspirants by not letting them get confused at times they have lost the data and other services managing their ongoing web-development projects?

2. Bitbucket

Bitbucket is another high-performance replacement of Github purposely designed by Atlassian. This replacement permits one or more teams of project-management professionals to not only plan the lifecycle of their projects well but also collaborate authoritatively on code repositories with no worries about the deployments. Curious to know whether or not Bitbucket is helpful at times you are planning to develop quality software without making many changes!! Yes, with its secured workflows and Continuous Integration/ Continuous Deployment capabilities, the codes can be executed and reviewed well not only frequently but reliably too. All you need to do is import the prime repositories of GITHUB (if you are using it) to its replacement (i.e. Bitbucket) and start developing a lot of best-in-class software comprising of free as well as UNLIMITED REPOSITORIES.

3. GitBucket

Isn’t it new to note the fact down that hosting source code is an unavoidable part of the software development process!! Github does host a collection of the code repositories of many of your software development projects but many times, it fails to reciprocate the flexibility demanded by any of your projects. There, its alternative GitBucket offers its extensibility at a higher scale which lets you or the other developers manage the project codes with lesser development challenges. Moreover, there are other core features offered by GitBucket instantaneously like PULL REQUESTS, REPOSITORY VIEWER (looks much alike to Windows Explorer but displays the repository’s content at a specific revision), issue tracker, a plugin system which draws out its core features potentially, documentation, & wiki.

4. AWS CodeCommit

AWS CodeCommit hosts well PRIVATE CODE REPOSITORIES of any of your software projects. It is one of the reasons many organizations prefer to use this version control service over GitHub at times they are committed to collaborating securely with the existing code repositories encrypted in transit. Besides, this no-size limits GitHub’s alternative features easy access of repository source files and integration with AWS CLI, AWS SDKs, and AWS Management Console. Also, it helps a lot while transferring files in and out through HTTPS/SSH (SSH is a secured cryptographic network protocol helping system administrators particularly to access network services even in an unsecured network). What else is more required to convince you for picking this SECURED GITHUB’S ALTERNATIVE to store anything – from easily understandable code to good reliable binaries?

5. Sourceforge

Sourceforge – this powerful distribution platform is known as Github’s alternative as it has shared with the world its support to many different software development projects hosted on Allura or Apache. Surprisingly, you can also transfer projects to this distribution platform from GitHub for improved performances of various modules of your project and hence, immediate delivery of results at lesser costs. Curious to measure the depth of this powerful Github alternative!! Then, you may count on your fingers like browser-based code browsing (for protecting your project’s data), integrated issue tracking (it will help in maintaining and managing your lists of issues), and an extensively accessible worldwide MIRROR NETWORK for making the content of your project available online at different geographical regions. With all these, you can dedicate your resources and time to this open-source alternative able to dispense its marvelous performance and efficiency at minimal requirements.  

6. Google Cloud Source Repositories

This is a free cloud-based repository tool developed by Google and considered one of the best alternatives to Github gifted with unlimited private Git repositories (all of them are free at one’s fingertips). Knowingly or unknowingly, these Git repositories let you maintain your mailing lists and develop, manage your project’s code with built-in powerful code search capabilities. Personally, the tool has the muscle of tempting the users of Github towards its services by catching issues related to integration or miscommunication during the development process of your software project. But the question here arises is how? Through its built-in CI practice, the repository tool can catch such issues well thereby maintaining a good track record amongst its users connected worldwide through it.

7. Phabricator

Phabricator – another HIGHLY-SCALABLE CODE HOSTING ALTERNATIVE of Github can powerfully serve you a set of tools mish-mashed selectively for helping you in collaborating and finishing software projects swiftly with appropriate documentation. Indeed, this cross-platform software plays up well with CODE REVIEW, BUG TRACKING, PROJECT MANAGEMENT, and much more which you may needfully demand. At times you feel the conditional need for purchasing support to help you simplify workflows of any of your development projects, this tool lets you host the support’s benefits on any version of hardware you are using currently. All such benefits must have made you think,” How may I commit myself to Phabricator instead of Github?”. And the answer to this undeniable question is – Just download this FREELY AVAILABLE suite of web-based collaboration and development tools and utilize its AFTER-EFFECTS of installation locally on any hardware.

8. Gitea

Gitea is a SELF-HOSTED ALTERNATIVE of Github and it is one of the reasons that many small businesses are able to meet their daily requirements through this painless and easy-to-install GIT + a cup of TEA = Gittea. Penned with Go (a reliably compiled language) and issued under the license of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, you can fluently run this Git service on Linux, Windows, or macOS at very minimal memory requirements. Deliberately asking yourself if I may integrate this service with other project management tools!! Yes, you can possibly do such integrations with Docker (a tool in which CONTAINERIZATION SYSTEM exists on a consistent basis) and Vagrant (a tool that builds, manages VIRTUAL MACHINE ENVIRONMENTS within a single workflow). And who knows, you are the next person happily running this amazing service at Debian-based Raspberry Pi OS consisting of various recommended and unique themes.

9. Apache Allura

Apache Allura is an alternative to Github OSS through which you can sensibly manage the source code repositories, discussion requests, and bug reports of single or multiple projects you are dealing with. Besides, the platform is pluggable, extensible, and flexible while highlighting the syntaxes like SEMANTICS, PROLOG for easy implementation of code without any typing errors. You pondering if you can subscribe to threaded discussions cast through this open-source platform as FORUMS or ONLINE DISCUSSION boards!! Yes, this known alternative of Github lets you enter into FORUMS (communication hubs of many of your development projects) where a specified set of knowledgeable users listen to your queries and answer them through emails. All you need to do is share any of your questions by using the instances of Apache Allura related to forks, pull requests, project bugs whose answers are of course the HEART of your projects.  

10. Launchpad

Launchpad is a free alternative to FREE/ PAID versions of Github used by thousands of people for code collaboration and project management. Shaped by CANONICAL (this is a UK-based company where Linux makers work), this bug-tracking collaboration platform reinforces translations through which you may communicate with a community of developers, project managers in various languages like Russian, French, and English. Will these translations are not helpful in CODE REVIEWS and LISTING EMAILS? Of course, you can now send bulk emails as per your listing criteria to a team or any of its members analyzing the source code manually or via some automated debugging tool for resolving errors thereby improving code quality. Conclusively, this alternative is a COMPLETE SOLUTION in itself for all queries of your development projects.