# GitCafe

> GitCafe is a fast, independent Git forge for hosting repositories, reviewing pull requests, and shipping code.

GitCafe owns its stack from the Git engine through the forge: libgitz provides the Git engine, kiln the runtime, and `cafe:git` the native binding. The server does not wrap the Git binary or another forge's engine. It provides native Git hosting over HTTP and SSH, including repositories, forks, branches, tags, archives, commit statuses, and Git LFS objects and locks.

Pushes are unpacked into quarantine and validated before refs become live. Repository authorization and rulesets can enforce restricted pushes, pull-request-only changes, linear history, signed commits, and controls on branch creation, deletion, and force pushes. Push-time scanning detects common secret formats in added content and reports findings without exposing the matched value. Pull request merges can enforce approvals, required reviewers, commit statuses, signatures, and history policies.

The web app supports account creation, passkeys and two-factor authentication, repository browsing, code search, commit history, branches, and tags. Issues include priorities, assignees, labels, linked work, Markdown discussion, and attachments. Pull requests include multi-file diffs, inline review threads, approvals and change requests, status checks, merge-readiness evaluation, and merge, squash, and rebase strategies. Organizations can manage invitations, roles, nested teams, repository access, integrations, labels, and rulesets at repository, organization, and team scope.

GitCafe integrates with supported external CI providers through workflows declared in `.gitcafe/ci.yml`. The web app exposes runs, jobs, durations, statuses, and streamed logs, while the backend projects results as commit statuses. The platform also provides signed outbound webhooks, authenticated integration webhooks, scoped access tokens, SSH and GPG keys, audit records, and a generated OpenAPI specification for its REST API.

The first-party `cafe` CLI supports device-flow authentication, access-token and HTTP Git credential management, SSH and GPG keys, and host-aware repository context. It covers repository lifecycle and code browsing, branches and tags, pull requests and reviews, issues, organizations and teams, CI inspection, audit logs, integrations, and webhooks. Commands produce human-friendly terminal output, Markdown, or versioned JSON for interactive use, pipelines, and coding agents. Embedded skills for CLI use, pull requests, reviews, issues, administration, and raw API access can be inspected and installed with `cafe skills`.

Private repositories are free during the beta.

## Links

- [GitCafe application](https://git.cafe/)
- [Example public pull request](https://git.cafe/versecafe/ashlar/pulls/1)
- [OpenAPI specification](https://git.cafe/api/openapi/json)