Anonymous Git Server VPS: Self-Host Gitea/Forgejo with No KYC

Forgejo or Gitea on a no-KYC KVM: 2 GB ECC at the floor, SSH keys only, token signup, coin invoice. Scout $3/mo annual.

Le corps de l'article est en anglais. L'interface, le catalogue et la caisse sont traduits.

Why self-host the forge

Gitea and Forgejo are compact HTTP+SSH forges that run comfortably on a KVM slice you control — your repos, your retention, your rules. The catalog floor is Scout (1 vCPU / 2 GB ECC / 40 GB NVMe / unmetered 1 Gbps / $3/mo annual) in twenty-one locations, which already covers the 1 GB a quiet forge wants. Signup takes a 32-character token with no inbox, or an email plus password; every invoice settles in coin. A passport, selfie or phone is never requested.

The RAM math, mapped to catalog

A personal or small-team forge idles near 1 GB RSS. No 1 GB SKU exists here, so the need maps to the floor and up:

L3/L4 DDoS filtering rides every plan, PTR records edit from the panel, and nested virt is on for a Docker-wrapped forge — see the Forgejo docs for the container path. When runners and mirror farms multiply past a slice, the same invoice covers a dedicated server: Shield opens at $30.80/mo annual-eff with whole E-2388G cores, ECC and IPMI.

SSH without a personal email

Keep the forge off your legal mailbox. Panel account and git transport stay separate concerns:

1. Token-only NulNet account. Register with the 32-character hex token and attach no address. Store it offline like a recovery code. The Scout SKU and the coin invoice are identical to the email path.
2. SSH with a key, not a mailbox. Paste a public key in the panel, generated with an empty comment: ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "" -f ~/.ssh/nvps_gitea. Connect as root (or your created user) with that key alone.
3. Forge users without a required inbox. Create the first admin locally, switch off open registration, and leave account emails empty or placeholder — both Gitea and Forgejo run fine mail-free.
4. Git over SSH, never HTTPS+password. Add a deploy key with no identity string; remotes read git@YOUR_IP:org/repo.git. Nothing in the key comment should point back to your name.

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "" -f ~/.ssh/nvps_gitea
ssh -i ~/.ssh/nvps_gitea root@YOUR_IP

apt-get update
apt-get install -y git sqlite3
# Install Gitea or Forgejo from project docs (binary or distro package).
# Do not clone from a public git-hosting marketplace.
install -d /var/lib/gitea /etc/gitea
# After first boot: switch off open registration in the admin settings.

The threat model — IP, payment, logs — is on how anonymous NulNet is. Token-vs-inbox trade-offs: best no-email VPS. Floor pricing: cheap VPS from $3.

Recommended setup

Plan: Scout — 1 vCPU, 2 GB ECC, 40 GB NVMe, $3/mo annual (the 1 GB forge need mapped to the catalog floor). Location: choose by latency to your collaborators; the SKU is identical in all twenty-one cities.