TL;DR
The Zig Software Foundation announced it is moving its repositories from GitHub to Codeberg, pointing to persistent GitHub Actions failures and what its leadership called a shift in priorities toward AI. A long-running 'safe_sleep' bug tied to Actions was fixed in August but related discussions stayed open for months, and other projects have voiced similar concerns.
What happened
In late 2025 the Zig Software Foundation said it will migrate its project hosting to Codeberg, accusing GitHub of deprioritizing engineering quality in favor of generative AI work. The controversy centers on a thread opened in April 2025 about a 'safe_sleep.sh' script that could spin at 100 percent CPU and hang CI runners; the code that introduced the problematic script dates to a February 2022 change. A platform-independent fix that had been proposed the previous February was merged on August 20, 2025, after a long delay, but the April thread remained open until December 1. Zig leadership, including president Andrew Kelly, characterized GitHub Actions behavior as 'vibe-scheduling' that left continuous-integration pipelines blocked and prevented even master-branch commits from being checked. Others in the community, including developer Jeremy Howard, criticized the apparent lapse in timely review. GitHub did not immediately reply to requests for comment. Meanwhile, Codeberg reported membership growth, and at least one other project signaled plans to leave GitHub.
Why it matters
- Open-source projects rely on hosted CI; long-lived runner failures can halt automated testing and block merges.
- Perception that engineering work on core platform features is being de-emphasized could push maintainers to seek alternative hosts.
- Migration of projects to non-profit hosts may affect contributor workflows and continuity for dependent projects.
- Public departures amplify scrutiny of GitHub's product priorities and the operational reliability of GitHub Actions.
Key facts
- A GitHub thread titled 'safe_sleep.sh rarely hangs indefinitely' was opened in April 2025.
- The problematic 'safe_sleep' behavior traces to a code change made in February 2022 that replaced calls to posix 'sleep'.
- A fix for the CPU-spinning issue was merged on August 20, 2025; the April thread remained open until December 1, 2025.
- Zig president Andrew Kelly said the project is moving to Codeberg, criticizing GitHub Actions for 'vibe-scheduling' and citing an alleged shift toward AI.
- Zig core developer Matthew Lugg reported processes running for hundreds of hours on CI runners, requiring manual intervention.
- A separate CPU-usage bug related to Actions remained unresolved as of the report.
- Community figures like Jeremy Howard publicly described the implemented bug as obvious and criticized delayed review.
- GitHub did not immediately respond to requests for comment in the source report.
- Codeberg reported its supporting membership doubling from more than 600 to over 1,200 since January.
- Microsoft public metrics cited in the source include over 1.3 million paid GitHub Copilot subscribers (Q2 2024) and over 15 million GitHub Copilot users (Q3 2025), per statements by Microsoft leadership.
What to watch next
- Whether additional open-source projects follow Zig and migrate away from GitHub — not confirmed in the source.
- Whether GitHub takes further steps to address long-running Actions and runner stability issues beyond the August fix — not confirmed in the source.
- Whether Codeberg's membership and hosting activity continue to grow as projects move off GitHub — not confirmed in the source.
Quick glossary
- GitHub Actions: A continuous-integration and workflow automation feature provided by GitHub that runs scripts and jobs in response to repository events.
- CI runner: A machine or process that executes continuous-integration jobs, running build, test, and deployment scripts for a project.
- Codeberg: A non-profit git hosting service that offers repository hosting and collaboration tools, positioned as an alternative to commercial platforms.
- GitHub Copilot: A code-completion and AI-assisted programming tool offered by GitHub, often as a subscription service.
Reader FAQ
Why did the Zig Software Foundation leave GitHub?
Zig's leadership said it was moving to Codeberg because of persistent GitHub Actions problems and what they described as a shift in GitHub's priorities toward AI; those claims are reported in the source.
Was the safe_sleep issue fixed?
A fix was merged on August 20, 2025, though related discussion in the April 2025 thread remained open until December 1, 2025, and a separate CPU bug was still unresolved.
Did GitHub respond to these complaints?
GitHub did not immediately respond to a request for comment in the source article.
Are other projects leaving GitHub?
The creator of the Dillo browser said he plans to move away from GitHub; broader departures are not confirmed in the source.
DEVOPS 41 Zig quits GitHub, says Microsoft's AI obsession has ruined the service Zig prez complains about 'vibe-scheduling' after safe sleep bug goes unaddressed for eons Thomas Claburn Tue 2 Dec 2025 //…
Sources
- Zig quits GitHub, says Microsoft's AI obsession has ruined the service
- Zig quits GitHub, gripes about Microsoft's AI obsession
- Migrating from GitHub to Codeberg
- This programming language is quitting GitHub
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