TL;DR
Get the latest gadgets delivered free with Prime
- Fast, free delivery on millions of items
- Prime Video, Amazon Music and more included
- Member-only deals all year
Tangled announced a major release of its federated code forge, with a redesigned interface, globally deployed read services and repository-owned issues and pull requests. The system is built on AT Protocol and is intended to let users host parts or all of the forge themselves while remaining connected to other users. More features, including private repositories and a command-line tool, are planned over the coming weeks.
Tangled has announced a major release of its code forge, a software collaboration service built on the AT Protocol that lets users host code and project data on their own servers while collaborating across the network. The release includes a redesigned web interface, new globally distributed read services and a system that stores issues and pull requests alongside repository data.
The release replaces Tangled’s previous Go-based application, which combined its web interface and backend in one service, with a Svelte frontend deployed at the network edge and a new indexing service called bobbin. Tangled says bobbin is written in Rust, operates in memory and is deployed in more than 11 regions. The company says the change is intended to improve access speed for users outside the Sweden-based server region used by the earlier system.
Tangled has also introduced knot2, a Rust rewrite of its knot server that includes a custom Git server and SSH server. Issues, pull requests, comments, reactions, labels and membership data are now stored as collaborative objects in the Git repository itself. Tangled says these records are synced through the AT Protocol firehose, allowing project information to travel with the code when a repository is hosted elsewhere.
To address the possibility that a server could misrepresent changes made by a user, Tangled says the web app writes an attestation record to the user’s personal data server whenever they create or edit a record on a knot. The attestation points to the specific version and repository change. Self-hosters must upgrade their knot servers to version 1.20.0 to use the new system, according to the release report.
Repository Data Can Move With Code
Many code collaboration services combine hosting, review tools and project records on a central platform. Tangled’s design aims to separate those functions: teams can host code and related records on their own infrastructure while continuing to interact with others on the network. That could give maintainers more control over where project data lives and reduce reliance on a single provider’s availability or policies.
The practical test will be whether federation remains straightforward for contributors and project teams. Tangled describes its model as allowing users to self-host selected components, such as Git hosting or CI runners, or the full service, including the API server and interface. The release establishes the architecture and tools for that approach; it does not by itself show how widely other operators will adopt them or how the experience compares with established centralized forges.
Products Worth Considering
DJI Mini 5 Pro Fly More Combo Plus with DJI RC 2
DJI Osmo Mobile 7P Phone Gimbal with Mic Mini Transmitter, Infinity Black
DJI Mini 4K Fly More Combo
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
From Central App to Federated Services
In its report, Tangled argues that code forges have traditionally traded convenience for centralization, while Git and email offer more open ways to move code and discuss changes. The project says its aim is to combine the portability of open protocols with a polished forge interface. These are Tangled’s rationale and product goals, rather than independently verified findings about the broader software industry.
Before this release, Tangled’s web interface, indexing and backend functions ran together in a Go application using a SQLite database on one server in Sweden. The new architecture separates the frontend, read indexing and repository services. Tangled also changed its AT Protocol data records from the earlier sh.tangled.* namespace to org.tangled.*, according to the announcement.
The release adds organization accounts as well. Tangled says each organization is an AT Protocol account with its own decentralized identifier and handle, hosted on a Tranquil PDS instance. Owners can invite members, and organization members can act as the organization when creating or forking repositories. Tangled says users who have been using ordinary accounts as organizations will need to wait for a migration option that is still in development.
““You can host code on your own servers and still collaborate seamlessly with others.””
— Tangled, in its release report
Adoption and Migration Remain Open
The announcement does not provide independent performance measurements, user numbers or evidence of how many third parties are already operating compatible servers. Tangled says bobbin’s deployment across more than 11 regions is intended to improve performance, but the report does not include comparative benchmarks or specify response-time results.
It is also not yet clear how many existing Tangled users will need to change their workflows, how organization accounts will migrate from ordinary accounts, or how federation will work across a larger range of independently run services. The company says private repositories, a CLI, language SDKs and agent skills are still to come, so their availability and release dates remain unconfirmed.
Private Repositories and Tools Ahead
Tangled says it will stagger the launch across the coming weeks. The next planned additions are private repositories, a command-line interface, SDKs for multiple programming languages and skills for software agents. The company has not supplied exact release dates in the report.
Self-hosters who want to use the new repository data model are directed to upgrade knot servers to version 1.20.0 using Tangled’s upgrade guide. Tangled also says it is working on a way to move existing stand-in organization accounts to the new organization account system. Details on that migration and the rollout of the planned tools are pending.
Key Questions
What is Tangled’s federated code forge?
Tangled is a code collaboration service built on AT Protocol. Its release is designed to let people host repositories and parts of the forge on their own servers while collaborating with other accounts on the network.
What changed in the new release?
The release includes a redesigned Svelte interface, the globally distributed bobbin indexing service, a Rust-based knot2 server, new organization accounts and a revised pull-request workflow. Tangled also moved issues and other repository collaboration records into the repository’s data.
Where are issues and pull requests stored?
Tangled says issues, pull requests, comments, reactions and labels are stored as collaborative objects in the Git repository. The records are synced through the AT Protocol firehose, according to the company.
Do self-hosted knot servers need an upgrade?
Yes. Tangled says self-hosters need to upgrade to knot version 1.20.0 to use the new system, following the project’s upgrade guide.
When will private repositories and the CLI be available?
Tangled lists private repositories and a CLI among the features planned for the coming weeks, but the announcement does not give specific release dates.
Source: tangled.org
