# Sourcehut Updates TOS to Restrict LLMs

> Published 2026-08-27 · https://www.promptzone.com/farrah_dubois/sourcehut-updates-tos-to-restrict-llms-440f

Sourcehut posted updated terms of service that explicitly address large language models. The changes were flagged on [Hacker News](https://sourcehut.org/blog/2026-08-27-tos-changes-and-llms/) and drew 39 points with 5 comments.

## What the TOS Change Covers

Sourcehut now prohibits using its platform to train or fine-tune LLMs without explicit permission. The update also bars automated scraping of repositories for LLM datasets. Existing rules on acceptable use were expanded with two new clauses targeting AI data pipelines.

The policy applies to all public and private repositories hosted on Sourcehut. Users must obtain written approval before ingesting any Sourcehut-hosted code into model training runs.

## Platform Comparison

| Platform   | LLM Training Ban | Scraping Restriction | Enforcement Notes          |
|------------|------------------|----------------------|----------------------------|
| Sourcehut  | Explicit         | Explicit             | Written approval required  |
| GitHub     | Case-by-case     | Via robots.txt       | Opt-out for Copilot training |
| GitLab     | Not stated       | robots.txt only      | No dedicated LLM clause    |
| Codeberg   | Explicit         | Explicit             | Similar approval process   |

Sourcehut's approach is stricter than GitHub's current opt-out system but aligns closely with Codeberg's stance.

## Community Reaction on HN

The five comments focused on enforcement feasibility and developer impact. Users noted that Sourcehut's smaller user base makes manual review of training requests more practical than at larger hosts. One thread raised questions about whether the rules cover fine-tuning on derivative works.

Early testers of the policy report that Sourcehut has already rejected two automated scraping attempts since the update.

## Who Should Use Sourcehut Now

Developers who want a hard guarantee that their code will not enter public LLM training sets should consider Sourcehut. Teams already using self-hosted Git instances or smaller forges gain little by switching solely for this policy.

Projects that rely on broad visibility and easy integration with LLM-powered coding assistants may find the restrictions limiting.

## How to Comply or Migrate

- Review the full policy text on the Sourcehut blog post.
- Submit any training requests through the documented contact channel.
- For migration, GitLab and Codeberg both support direct repository imports with comparable uptime SLAs.

> **Bottom line:** Sourcehut now offers one of the clearest contractual barriers against LLM data harvesting among public code hosts.

## Practical Next Steps

Check your existing repositories for any automated mirrors or dataset exports. If your workflow includes code search tools backed by LLMs, verify they respect Sourcehut's new robots.txt directives before the next crawl cycle.

Sourcehut's move signals that smaller hosts can still set stricter boundaries than the largest platforms when community size allows direct oversight.