The Dutch government has quietly begun building its own alternative to GitHub to reduce reliance on Big Tech. The platform, code.overheid.nl, is currently in a pilot phase restricted to a small group of institutions. Officials aim to reshape public code management through this initiative.
The Dutch government is developing code.overheid.nl as a sovereign platform to host public code, escaping control by Big Tech companies like GitHub. This move seeks to give the government greater independence in managing its open-source projects. The pilot phase, which limits access to select institutions, marks the initial rollout of the service announced on May 2, 2026, as first reported by TechRadar. The initiative comes amid broader European efforts to build digital infrastructure free from dominant U.S. tech providers. By creating its own repository, the Netherlands intends to ensure that public sector software remains under national control. No timeline for full public access has been specified, with the focus remaining on testing among approved users. This development highlights growing concerns over data sovereignty in government operations.
