Best Open-Source Version Control Tools in 2026

Version Control lists open-source projects for tracking and hosting source code. Git is the distributed VCS with branching and merging; Gitea is a self-hosted service with code review, packages, and CI/CD; Automerge Classic is a CRDT for concurrent edits that merge automatically. Browse when you need Git hosting, merge tooling, or changelog automation.

The most popular open-source Version Control tool by GitHub stars is Gitea(54.9k stars), followed by Gogs(47.5k stars)and Lerna(36.1k stars). This page lists the top 17 of 17 version control tools in the directory, ranked by community adoption.

Quick comparison

Best open-source Version Control tools in 2026, ranked by GitHub stars
#ToolStarsLanguageLicense
1Gitea

Gitea is a painless self-hosted all-in-one software development service, offering Git hosting, code review, team collaboration, package registry, and CI/CD integration.

54.9kGoMIT License
2Gogs

Gogs is a painless self-hosted Git service that makes it easy to set up your own Git repository management system.

47.5kGoMIT License
3Lerna

Lerna is a fast, modern build system for efficiently managing and publishing multiple JavaScript/TypeScript packages from a single repository.

36.1kTypeScriptMIT License
4Husky

Git hooks made easy with Husky, a simple tool to manage and execute Git hooks seamlessly 🐶 woof!

34.9kJavaScriptMIT License
5GitLab HQ

GitLab CE Mirror for collaborative software development and version control using Git. Please open new issues on GitLab.com.

24.3kRubyOther
6Semantic-release

Fully automated version management and package publishing for software projects.

23.5kJavaScriptMIT License
7Automerge Classic

A JSON-like data structure (a CRDT) that allows concurrent modifications by different users and automatically merges them.

14.7kJavaScriptMIT License
8Npm-check-updates

A utility that finds newer versions of package dependencies than what your package.json allows, helping keep your project up-to-date.

10.2kTypeScriptOther
9Release-it

Automate versioning and package publishing, manage releases effortlessly across projects.

8.9kJavaScriptMIT License
10Conventional Changelog

Automatically generate changelogs and release notes from commit messages and project metadata, adhering to conventional commit standards.

8.4kTypeScriptISC License

All 17 Version Control tools

  1. Our Newsletter

    Get new Version Control tools right in your inbox

    Get short emails with useful version control projects, releases, and repos worth watching.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best open-source version control tool in 2026?

Gitea leads by GitHub stars(54.9k). Gitea is a painless self-hosted all-in-one software development service, offering Git hosting, code review, team collaboration, package registry, and CI/CD integration.

Are these version control tools free?

Yes. Every tool on this list is open source and free to use in your own projects. Many can be self-hosted.

How is this list ranked?

Tools are ranked by GitHub star count, a strong proxy for community adoption and active maintenance. Star counts are refreshed regularly.

Stay Updated!

Get notified about new tools and updates to existing ones.