Midway towards Codeberg.org Mar 31, 2026

The active development of the Genode OS Framework is gradually moving from GitHub to Codeberg.

After having started out on Sourceforge, Genode's source-code had been hosted on GitHub since 2012. Since embracing GitHub, all of Genode's development happens in the open, completely transparent for everyone, using GitHub's issue tracker, which accumulated more that 5500 technical topics discussed over the years.

With the acquisition of GitHub by Microsoft in 2018, we initially grew weary of potential conflicts of interests between the new landlord and the interests of the free-software community. However, from our perspective, GitHub seemingly remained largely true to its own mission for many years. So we remained as happy campers enjoying the free hosting. This illusion was ultimately dispelled by Microsoft's AI products, which feast on open-source code as training material while disregarding licensing and ethical concerns. Genode has not been developed to be swallowed as training material for AI products after all.

Fortunately, others have seen the writing on the wall long before us. In particular, a courageous group of Berliners came together, founding a non-profit organization to establish a counter weight to corporate dominance in the domain of open-source code hosting. According to its mission statement, Codeberg.org puts software freedom first. Being a non-profit, it has a transparent and open governance structure, not driven by exploitative motives. The underlying server software Forgejo resembles the best of GitHub's user interface but it is completely open source.

After on-and-off discussing a potential migration from GitHub to Codeberg since mid of 2024, we have eventually taken the leap. By now, all of Genode's source repositories and discussions except for the main repository have been successfully moved over to our new host. This includes the Goa SDK, the genode-world repository, all hardware-specific supplements, and the Genode books. We somewhat expected technical points of friction for a migration like that. But to our surprise there was none. The process was buttery-smooth. Given this delightful experience so far, the main repository will follow suit shortly.

We are not leaving GitHub in grief. In fact, we are thankful for the free hosting we have enjoyed over the past 14 years. However, Codeberg.org feels much closer to home both location-wise and ethically. From now on, you will find our code at https://codeberg.org/genodelabs.

Genode OS release 26.02 Mar 30, 2026

With version 26.02, the framework switches over to Genode's custom designed human-inclined data configuration format.

End of February, we published the first of the four framework releases scheduled for the year. Version 26.02 has prominently replaced the use of XML by our custom designed human-inclined data (HID) format. Structurally, the new format mirrors the time-tested concepts of XML. Data is expressed as a hierarchy of nodes where each node can have attributes. Like XML, data can be validated against schema definitions. Syntactically, however, HID promotes calmness and clarity, and specifically fosters the joyful use of text as an interactive user interface of Sculpt OS.

With the current release, the entirety of the Genode OS framework, including configurations, tests, and packages, has been converted to the new format whereas compatibility to XML will be upheld until autumn. The adaptation of the framework's documentation will follow in the upcoming May release.

Besides the HID format, the highlights of the release are the gradual update of our Linux device-driver environment to kernel version 6.18, new input-processing capabilities, and continuous improvements of the Goa SDK. More details and wealth of background information are provided by the official release documentation.

Road map for 2026 Jan 27, 2026

The roadmap for this year aspires the building of bridges connecting Genode with others.

Adhering to our tradition of publicly discussing our road map by the turn of the years, we started our joint brainstorming with suggesting the theme of building bridges as motif of the year. Bridges to other open-source projects. Bridges to a variety of programming languages. Bridges to new user demographies. Bridges for the interoperability of applications.

Over the course of four weeks - and thanks the vivid participation of our community - this vague picture evolved into a tangible plan and schedule. Today, we made it official...

Chemnitzer Linux-Tage in March Jan 26, 2026

Meet Genode Labs at the Chemnitzer Linux-Tage at the end of March.

The Chemnitzer Linux-Tage is one of the most renowned gatherings of the open-source community in Germany. Its history reaches back to the year 1999! For this year's edition, held during 28th and 29th of March, we will join this fantastic event with a Genode stand for the very first time.