Please Don’t Upload My Code to Gitee
This is a call to free/libre and open-source software developers to not upload others’ work to Gitee.
What’s Wrong with Gitee?
Gitee poses several problems to the free/libre and open-source software (FOSS) ecosystem. The major concerns include the following:
Closed-Source Control and Lack of Transparency
Gitee is not a fully free platform. Core functionalities and its infrastructure are proprietary, meaning that control over the distribution and use of your code lies with the platform, not the developer.
Unlike decentralized or open-source alternatives, users cannot verify how their code is processed, stored, or shared. This undermines the fundamental transparency that defines the open-source ethos.
Content Censorship and Arbitrary Removal
Gitee enforces strict and opaque censorship policies. Projects may be taken down, hidden, or deleted simply for containing so-called “sensitive” content or keywords.
Such arbitrary control disrupts the free flow of knowledge, hinders collaboration, and risks erasing valuable open-source work — all of which directly contradict the principles of unrestricted sharing and community-driven development.
Access Restrictions
Gitee’s accessibility is limited by geographical, network, and policy barriers. Developers in certain regions or under specific conditions may find it difficult to access, fork, or contribute to projects hosted there.
This creates a fragmented ecosystem where code cannot be freely accessed by the global open-source community, violating the FOSS principle of universal availability.
Disregard for License Terms
Code uploaded to Gitee is often scanned, redistributed, or integrated into third-party tools without respecting the original author’s license.
Many projects use copyleft licenses (such as the GPL), which require modified versions to remain under the same license. Others use permissive licenses (such as MIT or ISC), which still require authorship and license retention.
However, Gitee’s platform practices and third-party integrations frequently ignore these obligations. Copylefted code may end up in proprietary software, while permissively licensed code may be reused without attribution.
This violates license terms and deprives authors of recognition and control — exploiting the goodwill of the open-source community for restrictive or commercial purposes.
Why Not Upload Code to Gitee?
Even if a project is not directly uploaded to Gitee by its author, others may legally rehost it under FOSS license terms.
While this redistribution is technically legal, Gitee’s lack of license enforcement, content censorship, and access restrictions can still compromise the project’s integrity.
Once uploaded to Gitee, the code might be misused by third parties, censored by the platform, or inaccessible to parts of the community — all of which violate the spirit (and sometimes the letter) of the original license.
That’s why we call upon the FOSS community: do not upload our code to Gitee.
Is This a Legal Document?
No. FOSS licenses explicitly permit sharing and redistribution of licensed material, including on platforms like Gitee, as long as license conditions are met.
A license restricting this right would no longer qualify as free/libre and open source.
However, given Gitee’s record of ignoring license terms, enforcing censorship, and restricting access, choosing not to upload others’ code there is an ethical stance — one that supports authors in protecting their work and preserving open-source values.
How to Ask Others Not to Upload Your Code to Gitee
You can add a badge to your website, project documentation, or repository README to make your stance clear:
Markdown:
1 |  |
HTML:
1 | <img |
Reference and Inspiration
This project is a lighthearted parody and not a legal statement.
Inspired by Please don’t upload to GitHub.
Special thanks to the original creators for their inspiration and design concept.
Based on work by No Github licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. This work is licensed under the same license: CC BY-SA 4.0.