============================================== Genode Labs Newsletter - February / March 2026 ============================================== Content 1. Midway towards Codeberg.org 2. Genode OS Framework 26.02 released 1. Midway towards Codeberg.org ------------------------------ 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. https://codeberg.org 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 2. Genode OS Framework 26.02 released ------------------------------------- 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. https://genode.org/documentation/hid 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: https://genode.org/documentation/release-notes/26.02 About the newsletter -------------------- If you have friends or colleagues who might be interested in our projects, we would appreciate you to forward this email. If you received this newsletter as a forwarded email, you may subscribe to the newsletter here: https://genode-labs.com/newsletter In the case of receiving this newsletter unintended, you can cancel your subscription at any time by replying to this email with the subject set to "unsubscribe". Best regards -- Dr.-Ing. Norman Feske Genode Labs https://www.genode-labs.com/ · https://genode.org/ https://twitter.com/GenodeLabs · /ˈdʒiː.nəʊd/ Genode Labs GmbH · Amtsgericht Dresden · HRB 28424 · Sitz Dresden Geschäftsführer: Dr.-Ing. Norman Feske, Christian Helmuth
