Codeberg Excludes "Vibe-Coded" Projects and Advocates for Human FLOSS
Codeberg, the volunteer-managed code hosting community, has decided that software created by artificial intelligence is no longer welcome. The decision was made after members of Codeberg e.V., the non-profit organization based in Berlin that oversees the service, voted to ban "vibe-coded" projects. They also declared that they will not use user code or data to train AI, due to the negative impact on free, libre, and open-source software (FLOSS).
Authors Bastian Greshake Tzovaras, Otto Richter, and William Zijl argue that AI companies are shifting costs onto others and harming online communities. They highlight that large language models (LLMs) are so expensive that companies are externalizing costs on a large scale, affecting those who do not use them and society at large. The rising prices of hardware, such as SSDs, are a clear example of this trend. A drive that cost €700 a few years ago now sells for €3,700, if available.
Concern for the FLOSS Community
The vote is not just about the unfair consumption of resources. It reflects a broader concern among Codeberg members about the damage that AI-based coding models are causing to the FLOSS community. AI-driven price increases are widening the digital divide, making personal computers less accessible and forcing more people to turn to corporate cloud services. Furthermore, the use of LLMs is undermining the trust and collaboration that sustain FLOSS.
The authors state that the widespread use of LLMs in FLOSS is becoming a multidimensional attack on trust among collaborators and the very idea of convivial collaboration. These models increase the workload of maintainers, create confusion about project maintenance, and lead to "license laundering," where copyleft code is stripped of its reciprocity requirements when "generated" from training data.
The Decision and Its Implications
As a result of the vote, projects developed and maintained primarily by AI agents are no longer welcome on Codeberg and are encouraged to seek other hosting options. The new usage guidelines state that projects consisting mainly of code written by generative AI tools, such as Claude and OpenAI Codex, should not be shared. These projects have uncertain copyright status and few guarantees that they do not include harmful code.
Despite the decision, the enforcement of the ban seems unlikely unless a project draws attention, given Codeberg's acknowledgment of its limited resources and overburdened workforce. Support for the ban was significant but not overwhelming, with 358 members voting in favor, 144 against, and 14 abstentions. About half of the active members voted.
The decision to ban cryptocurrency projects was also made, following a similar move by SourceHut in 2023. A proposed amendment to make Codeberg's declared purpose "to oppose discrimination and promote a diverse FOSS community" was approved with two-thirds of the votes but has not yet been incorporated. The extended protection for the philosophical perspective does not cover belief in AI.
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