About Forge
Forge is a managed application platform that builds and hosts web apps from a git repo, with their databases, storage, sign-in and email, for development teams and agencies that serve South African users. It runs from a South African data centre and bills in rand.
What Forge does
Builds and deploys from git
Connect a GitHub or GitLab repository, public or private. Forge builds Docker Compose projects, Dockerfiles or plain source, health-checks each new release and swaps it in with zero downtime. A failed deploy leaves the running version in place, and any app can roll back to its previous image in seconds.
Provisions the services an app needs
A forge.yaml file in the repo declares the app's Postgres (with pgvector), MariaDB, Redis and S3-compatible storage, and Forge creates them and wires their connection details into the app's environment. Postgres databases are pooled and backed up every night.
Sign-in and email on your own domain
Forge runs passkey and password sign-in for an app on the app's own domain, so there is no separate auth vendor. Transactional email goes out from your verified domain, with send limits.
Previews, scheduled jobs and an LLM gateway
Every pull request can get its own preview URL, removed when the pull request closes. Scheduled jobs are declared in forge.yaml. An LLM gateway gives an app one key for OpenAI, Anthropic and Gemini models, metered per app.
One control plane
Everything is available from the web dashboard, the pgforge CLI, a REST API and an MCP server, so approved AI assistants can operate Forge with the same permissions as a person.
What makes Forge different
One platform instead of a vendor per service
A typical setup hosts the frontend on one service such as Netlify, the database on another such as Supabase, and storage and monitoring somewhere else, each with its own bill and login. Forge runs the app and its services together under one account and one bill.
Data stays in South Africa
Managed Forge runs on servers in a South African data centre, and nightly backups are kept in-country. Users in South Africa avoid a round trip to Europe or the US.
Rand billing and POPIA paperwork
Prices are in rand, paid through PayFast. Forge provides a POPIA operator agreement and a sub-processor list you can give to your client's lawyer.
Each tenant is sandboxed
On managed Forge, every tenant's apps run inside the gVisor sandbox, and their images are built in a sandboxed builder. Each tenant gets its own network and resource limits.
You can run it yourself
The same platform can be installed on your own server for free, with no license key and no feature gates. See the self-hosting guide.
Who Forge is built for
- Web agencies hosting several client sites and apps, who want one bill and one dashboard instead of an account per client per vendor.
- Development teams building products for South African users, who need their data kept in the country.
- Teams that already ship with Docker Compose or a Dockerfile and want managed databases and backups without running servers.
The team behind Forge
Forge is operated by Beesworx in South Africa. Support comes from the team that runs the platform, in your time zone.
How Forge works with customers
- Sign up at /signup, verify your email and pick a plan.
- The team can help migrate your existing apps. Email brian@beesworx.co.za.
Key facts
- Name
- Forge
- Type
- Managed application platform (platform as a service)
- Operated by
- Beesworx, South Africa
- Website
- forgeserver.app
- Status
- Generally available
- Hosting location
- A South African data centre, with nightly backups kept in-country
- Core offering
- Git-push deploys with managed Postgres, MariaDB, Redis, object storage, sign-in, email, pull request previews, scheduled jobs and an LLM gateway
- Interfaces
- Web dashboard, CLI, REST API, MCP server
- Billing
- In rand, paid through PayFast
- Compliance
- POPIA operator agreement and sub-processor list
- Self-hosting
- Free, with no license key or feature gates
- Contact
- brian@beesworx.co.za
Frequently asked questions
How much does Forge cost?
Plans are priced in rand, from a free plan up to Agency HA. Pick one when you create your workspace. Self-hosting is free.
Is there a free plan?
Yes. There is a free managed plan with modest limits, and self-hosting is also free.
What can I deploy?
Anything that builds from a Docker Compose file, a Dockerfile or plain source, from a public or private GitHub or GitLab repository. Web apps, APIs, background workers and static sites all run the same way.
Where is my data stored?
On managed Forge, your apps, databases and backups are in a South African data centre. If you self-host, they are wherever you run your server.
Can I leave?
Yes. Your databases and backups are yours to export, keep and move, and because apps are ordinary Docker Compose projects or Dockerfiles, they run elsewhere without changes to the app itself.
When is another platform a better fit?
Forge runs from one region in South Africa. If most of your users are in Europe or the US, or you need a global edge network or several regions, a platform with worldwide regions will serve them faster.
Can AI assistants manage my apps?
Yes. Forge's MCP server lets approved AI tools deploy, inspect logs and manage resources with the same permissions as the person who connected them.