Gentoo Linux Migrates from GitHub to Codeberg Over Copilot Ethical Concerns

Gentoo Linux Migrates from GitHub to Codeberg Over Copilot Ethical Concerns

In a landmark move for the open-source community, the Gentoo Linux distribution has completed its migration of official repositories from GitHub to Codeberg, a German-based, nonprofit code hosting platform. The decision, announced in early February 2026, follows months of internal debate and public consultation within the Gentoo developer community, culminating in a formal resolution to sever ties with GitHub due to persistent concerns over Microsoft’s GitHub Copilot and its implications for open-source ethics.

According to The Register, Gentoo’s leadership cited "continuous attempts to force Copilot usage for our repositories" as the primary catalyst for the migration. While GitHub had not mandated Copilot integration, its pervasive promotion within the platform—through default suggestions, repository banners, and developer tooling integrations—was perceived by Gentoo maintainers as an encroachment on the principles of voluntary, transparent, and ethically sourced collaboration. "We cannot endorse a system that trains AI models on code without clear, opt-in consent from contributors," said a senior Gentoo developer in a statement posted to the project’s mailing list.

Codeberg, a member of the Free Software Foundation Europe’s network, was selected for its commitment to privacy, neutrality, and non-commercial governance. Unlike GitHub, which operates under Microsoft’s corporate umbrella, Codeberg does not monetize user data, embed proprietary AI tools, or leverage repository content for commercial machine learning initiatives. The migration, which began in January 2026, included mirroring over 1,200 repositories, updating documentation, and redirecting all development workflows. Project maintainers emphasized that the move was not a rejection of AI tools per se, but rather a principled stand against the unauthorized use of open-source contributions.

The decision has sparked widespread discussion across the developer community. While some critics argue that open-source code is inherently public and thus fair game for training data, proponents of Gentoo’s stance point to the growing legal and ethical gray zones surrounding AI training datasets. A 2025 study by the Open Source Initiative found that over 60% of top GitHub repositories contained code contributions from developers who had not explicitly granted permission for their work to be used in AI training. Gentoo’s move may set a precedent for other projects reconsidering their hosting platforms.

Notably, the timing of the migration coincides with broader regulatory scrutiny of AI training practices in the European Union. The EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act, which came into partial effect in late 2025, now requires transparency about training data sources for high-risk AI systems—including code generation tools. While the law does not yet prohibit the use of open-source code without consent, it mandates clear disclosure, a requirement Gentoo argues GitHub has consistently evaded.

Meanwhile, Codeberg has reported a surge in interest from other open-source projects seeking to follow Gentoo’s lead. "We’ve seen a 300% increase in repository creation requests since the announcement," said Codeberg’s project lead in a recent interview. "Gentoo’s decision has validated what many in the community have long believed: that code hosting should serve the public good, not corporate profit motives."

For end users, the transition has been seamless. All package manifests, build scripts, and developer documentation have been updated to point to Codeberg URLs. Gentoo’s official mirror network remains fully operational, and community support channels continue to operate without disruption.

As the open-source ecosystem grapples with the implications of generative AI, Gentoo’s migration stands as a defining moment—not merely a technical shift, but a moral one. It signals a growing willingness among free software advocates to prioritize ethical integrity over platform convenience, even at the cost of mainstream visibility. Whether other major distributions will follow remains to be seen, but for now, Gentoo has drawn a clear line in the code.