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Tangled has announced a major redesign of its code-forge service, with a new distributed architecture and support for self-hosting code and project records. Its company says the AT Protocol lets users collaborate across independently hosted infrastructure; private repositories, a command-line tool and software development kits are planned for later releases.
Tangled has announced a redesigned version of its code-forge service, built to let developers host code and project records on their own servers while collaborating with others through the AT Protocol. The update replaces the service’s earlier single-server architecture with a distributed system and introduces new repository, organization and pull-request features.
The company says its new web frontend is built with Svelte and deployed at the edge, while a Rust indexing service called bobbin runs in more than 11 regions, supporting the kind of work covered by code debugging tools. Bobbin is read-only and handles AT Protocol data. Tangled says this arrangement replaces its previous Go-based appview, which combined indexing, caching, backend functions and page rendering on one server in Sweden.
Other functions now sit in supporting services. Tangled’s new knot2 server, also written in Rust, combines a custom Git server with an SSH server. Issues, pull requests, comments, reactions, labels and membership information are stored with a repository as collaborative objects, or COBs, made from chains of Git objects. Tangled says these records sync through the AT Protocol firehose.
The release also adds organization accounts with their own decentralized identifiers and handles, and a revised pull-request workflow. Git users can compare changes between versions, while users of Jujutsu can compare individual changes. Tangled says organizations are passwordless delegated accounts, and that members can act as the organization when creating or forking repositories.
Project Records Can Travel
The redesign addresses a long-standing trade-off in collaborative software: centralized services can make hosting and review convenient, but projects depend on the provider’s infrastructure and policies. Tangled’s stated approach is to let maintainers host some or all of the service themselves while continuing to interact with other users. If the system works as described, a project’s discussions and review history would not have to remain tied to one company’s servers.
That matters because issues and pull requests are part of a project’s working history, not just conversations around its code. Storing those records alongside a repository could make them easier to move with the project. Tangled says each record is also accompanied by an attestation written to the user’s personal data server, or PDS, linking to the specific record version and repository change. The company presents this as a way for users to verify that a knot did not alter their words.
The model also shifts more responsibility to maintainers. Self-hosting can give teams control over their infrastructure and customizations, but it requires them to operate and update the relevant services. The release notes say self-hosters must upgrade to knot v1.20.0 using Tangled’s upgrade guide. The practical costs, reliability and compatibility of operating the system independently are not detailed in the announcement.
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From Single Server to Federation
Tangled describes the code forge as a place where projects are hosted, changes are reviewed and contributors find one another. Its announcement argues that conventional forges trade convenience for reliance on a central provider, while email and Git offer more open ways to exchange discussion and code but can be less convenient to use. Tangled says it aims to combine an integrated forge experience with open-protocol collaboration.
Before this update, Tangled’s web interface and backend were handled by a single Go service called the appview, backed by SQLite on one medium-sized server in Sweden. Tangled says that design worked best for users geographically close to the server and prompted the move to a frontend deployed at the edge and indexers in multiple regions. The company also replaced its earlier sh.tangled.* data records with a new set of lexicons under org.tangled.*.
The announcement frames customization as another part of the project. Tangled says developers can build extensions, subscribe to the firehose, create custom knots or spindles, or host an ultralight API server and build a separate interface. These are capabilities described by the company; the announcement does not provide independent evaluations of how widely they are being used.
““It’s the first truly federated code forge.””
— Tangled
Adoption and Operations Remain Open
The announcement does not give user numbers, independent performance measurements or evidence of adoption by other code-hosting services. Tangled reports that bobbin is deployed in more than 11 regions, but provides no latency figures or comparison with the prior setup. The extent to which users can collaborate seamlessly across independently operated knots, and how that experience varies by hosting configuration, remains unclear.
Some operational details also remain open. Tangled directs self-hosters to upgrade to knot v1.20.0, but the announcement does not describe migration effects for every existing setup. It says users running regular accounts as organization substitutes should wait for a migration path, which is still in development. The company’s claims about attestations and record portability are not accompanied by an external audit or technical assessment in the supplied material.
More Tools Planned in Coming Weeks
Tangled says the release will be staggered over the next few weeks. Planned additions include private repositories, a command-line interface, language-specific software development kits and skills for software agents. The announcement does not specify dates for those releases.
Self-hosters who want to use the new system need to follow Tangled’s upgrade guide for knot v1.20.0. Users who have been using regular accounts as stand-in organization accounts will need to wait for the promised migration option. The timing and scope of that migration have not been announced.
Key Questions
What did Tangled announce?
Tangled announced a redesigned federated code forge with a new distributed frontend and indexing system, self-hostable repository services, organization accounts and an updated pull-request workflow.
What does federated mean in this announcement?
Tangled says users can host code and related services on their own infrastructure while still collaborating with other users through the AT Protocol. The announcement does not provide independent testing of collaboration across different operators.
Where are issues and pull requests stored?
Under the new design, Tangled says issues, pull requests, comments and related records are stored on the repository’s knot as collaborative objects built from Git objects. The records sync through the AT Protocol firehose.
Do existing self-hosted knots need an update?
Yes. Tangled says self-hosters must upgrade to knot v1.20.0 and follow the project’s upgrade guide to use the new release.
What features are coming next?
Tangled lists private repositories, a command-line interface, language-specific SDKs and skills for agents as planned additions over the next few weeks. It has not published firm release dates for them.
Source: tangled.org
