OSDN
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software development, Web hosting |
| Predecessor | SourceForge.JP |
| Founded | April 18, 2002 |
| Headquarters | Japan |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Products | Source code hosting, web hosting services |
| Owner | Open Source China (since 2022) |
| Website | osdn |
OSDN (previously known as SourceForge.JP) functioned as an online collaborative development environment dedicated to open-source software initiatives, providing source code hosting and web hosting service capabilities. Much like SourceForge, it acted as a unified hub for developers working on open-source projects.
The platform supported a repository containing upwards of 5,000 projects and boasted a user base exceeding 50,000 registered members. Initially, its focus was on software tailored to the Japanese market, including input method editors and font packages, but it also encompassed programs such as Cabos, TeraTerm, and Shiira. Following its transition to the OSDN brand, numerous projects migrated from SourceForge to this platform, among them MinGW, TortoiseSVN, Android-x86, and Clonezilla.
History
VA Linux Systems (later renamed SourceForge, Inc.) together with its branch VA Linux Systems Japan launched SourceForge.JP on April 18, 2002. In August 2007, OSDN K.K. was created as a spin-off from VA Linux Systems Japan and took over operations of SourceForge.JP by June 2009.
The platform underwent a rebranding on May 11, 2015, changing its name from "SourceForge.JP" to "OSDN". This change occurred amid controversies involving SourceForge’s DevShare adware distribution and project hijacking practices—issues OSDN explicitly distanced itself from by enforcing strict policies prohibiting adware bundling and unauthorized project takeovers. The renaming was widely interpreted as a strategic move to address negative perceptions linked to SourceForge’s monetization tactics.
On February 26, 2020, ownership of OSDN transferred to Appirits, Inc., a Japanese software firm. Later, in July 2023, Open Source China (OSChina) revealed that it had acquired OSDN in 2022. Shortly after this disclosure, OSDN encountered stability problems which led the original US-based SourceForge to actively seek projects relocating from OSDN—particularly those utilizing SVN repositories unsupported by GitHub. During this timeframe, prominent projects like Vim and TeraTerm departed from OSDN.
In January 2024, OSDN announced intentions to discontinue the Slashdot Japan successor site (Surado) but subsequently reversed this plan and began searching for new management for both platforms. Nevertheless, by March 2025, Surado declared OSChina’s resolution to shut down both OSDN and Surado by the end of that month. As of early 2025, public access to the OSDN.net website has been discontinued.
Features
OSDN provided support for various version control systems including CVS, SVN, Git, and Mercurial, alongside all functionalities offered by SourceForge. Its distinctive advantages included integrated bug tracking system and wiki capabilities reminiscent of tools like Trac.