What is GitBucket used for?

GitBucket is a self-hosted Git web platform written in Scala with repositories, issues, pull requests, wiki, plugins and a GitHub-compatible API. It is a good fit for hosting private Git repositories for a team and running a lightweight GitHub-like server.

Is GitBucket open source?

Yes. GitBucket is open source under the Apache-2.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at gitbucket/gitbucket and is written mainly in Scala.

Yes. GitBucket is open source, so the software itself is free to use.

Can I self-host GitBucket?

Yes. GitBucket can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure; there is no official hosted version.

What is GitBucket an alternative to?

GitBucket is an open-source alternative to GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket and Unity Version Control. Other open-source alternatives to GitHub include OneDev, Gogs and Gitea.

Is GitBucket actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to GitBucket was on 2 October 2026, and the latest release is 4.48.0, published on 20 September 2026. The project has 9.4k stars on GitHub.

GitBucket: open-source alternative to GitHub, GitLab

About GitBucket

GitBucket is a Git web platform powered by Scala. It aims for easy installation, an intuitive interface, high extensibility through plugins and API compatibility with GitHub, so teams can host their own repositories without a heavy setup.

Features include public and private repositories over HTTP, HTTPS and SSH, Git LFS support, a repository viewer with an online file editor, and issues, pull requests and a wiki for each repository. There is an activity timeline with email notifications, account and group management with LDAP integration, and a plugin system. Officially provided plugins cover gists, emoji, pages and notifications, and the community publishes more.

GitBucket requires Java 17. You download gitbucket.war and run it with java -jar, or deploy it to a servlet container that supports Servlet 3.0 such as Jetty or Tomcat. Data is stored under the user's home directory, which makes backup a matter of copying one folder. The code is Apache-2.0 licensed.

Key features

Public and private Git repositories
Git LFS support
Issues, pull requests and wiki
LDAP integration and group management
Plugin system with official plugins
GitHub API compatibility

Good fit for

→Hosting private Git repositories for a team
→Running a lightweight GitHub-like server

Built with: Scala
Tags: git; git-hosting; scala; self-hosted; pull-requests; issue-tracker; wiki; ldap

GitBucket: questions and answers

What is GitBucket used for?: GitBucket is a self-hosted Git web platform written in Scala with repositories, issues, pull requests, wiki, plugins and a GitHub-compatible API. It is a good fit for hosting private Git repositories for a team and running a lightweight GitHub-like server.
Is GitBucket open source?: Yes. GitBucket is open source under the Apache-2.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at gitbucket/gitbucket and is written mainly in Scala.
Is GitBucket free?: Yes. GitBucket is open source, so the software itself is free to use.
Can I self-host GitBucket?: Yes. GitBucket can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure; there is no official hosted version.
What is GitBucket an alternative to?: GitBucket is an open-source alternative to GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket and Unity Version Control. Other open-source alternatives to GitHub include OneDev, Gogs and Gitea.
Is GitBucket actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to GitBucket was on 2 October 2026, and the latest release is 4.48.0, published on 20 September 2026. The project has 9.4k stars on GitHub.