code.overheid.nl, the Dutch government’s new open‑source platform, has gone live. Built on the self‑hosted Forgejo engine, it lets ministries publish and develop software while maintaining digital sovereignty. The pilot, run by the Open Source Program Office at the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, targets a unified Git experience for public bodies today.

Developers across the Netherlands are invited to contribute, with a goal of scaling the platform into a shared Git hub for all agencies. The initiative partners with DAWO, Opensourcewerken, and developer.overheid.nl, all of which emphasize community governance and open‑source best practices. Contact [email protected] for participation details in the upcoming release cycle soon to expand further.

By hosting code on a sovereign platform, Dutch ministries sidestep reliance on foreign cloud vendors, aligning with national security mandates. Forgejo’s architecture allows onboarding of new repositories without the overhead of commercial services. As the pilot matures, it could set a precedent for other European governments seeking to consolidate open‑source development under local control today.

The platform’s open‑source nature means code is freely auditable, encouraging transparency in public sector software. By adopting Forgejo, the Dutch government models how sovereign infrastructure can coexist with modern development workflows. Stakeholders can track progress on developer.overheid.nl, where a blog titled ‘We’re building code.overheid.nl together’ details roadmap milestones for developers and policy makers today globally.