Why I Love Gitea

Gitea

Gitea is my new favourite tool for working with code. Not only do you get the added privacy of hosting your own GitHub at home, but there is so much more you can do.

Lightweight and Easy to Install

One of the first things I noticed about Gitea is how lightweight it is. It is literally just a single binary and written in the go language. Unlike some self-hosted Git solutions that feel bloated, Gitea runs smoothly even on modest hardware. Installation is simple, and updates are straightforward, meaning less time wrestling with dependencies and more time actually coding.

Full GitHub-like Features

Despite its small footprint, Gitea doesn’t skimp on features. You get repositories, pull requests, issue tracking, wiki support, and even a built-in CI/CD pipeline. If you’ve ever relied on GitHub for collaboration, Gitea feels instantly familiar, making the transition seamless. Not to mention the most powerful thing of all… Actions!

Actions

Gitea Actions bring automation to your self-hosted workflow. Much like GitHub Actions, they allow you to define CI/CD pipelines directly in your repository using simple YAML files.

You can automatically run tests, build applications, or deploy your code whenever you push a change all from within Gitea itself. No external services needed, no data leaving your network.

Actions can be executed in Docker containers, giving you a clean, reproducible environment every time. Whether you’re automating a Go build, deploying a static website, or testing a Python script, Actions make it simple and reliable.

Privacy and Control

Hosting your own Gitea instance means your code stays under your control. No third-party servers, no unexpected outages, and no concerns about how your data is used. You can set up private repositories, manage access permissions, and even integrate with your internal tools.

Community and Extensibility

Gitea has an active community of contributors and users. This means frequent updates, a rich plugin ecosystem, and plenty of tutorials to help you customize your instance. Whether you want to integrate with LDAP, add custom webhooks, or just tweak the UI, Gitea makes it possible.

Perfect for Homelabs

For homelab enthusiasts, Gitea is a dream. It fits neatly into a Docker container or a lightweight VM, plays nicely with reverse proxies, and integrates easily with other services like Drone CI or Jenkins. You can create a full, self-contained development ecosystem right at home.

Conclusion

If you’re looking for a self-hosted alternative to GitHub that’s easy to manage, feature-rich, and privacy-conscious, Gitea is an excellent choice. It’s the perfect tool for developers who want to maintain control over their code while still enjoying a familiar workflow.