Product
Standard Git underneath. One interface everyone understands.
Keelson is Git hosting — standard clones, pushes, and branches over HTTPS — wrapped in an interface a nontechnical cofounder can use on day one, and that a developer keeps working the way they expect.
Everything below sits on top of standard Git — the protocol is untouched. Keelson makes it legible to the whole team.
Simple Mode / Developer Mode
One platform, two vocabularies. Interface mode is a per-user preference — both modes call the same server actions on the same data. Simple Mode shows plain-language labels with the real Git term beneath and educational tooltips, so people learn Git as they work. Developer Mode is a conventional Git host UI. Branch protection, permissions, and history are identical in both modes, enforced by the same server-side rules.
Environment Vault
Encrypted secrets management built into the repository, replacing .env files passed around in chat. Envelope encryption backed by a cloud KMS, per-repository environments, masked display with permissioned reveals, .env.example generation, and CLI workflows: keelson vault pull, run, and set. Plaintext exists only inside the vault package's decrypt paths.
AI assistant with controlled permissions
The assistant can read the repository and propose changes, but AI writes are branch-only and always become draft review requests that a human must approve — subject to the same branch protection as everyone else. Every provider call passes through redaction middleware, every action is metered and audit-logged, and bring-your-own-key is supported on all plans.
Guided Start-a-Project wizard
New users don't start from an empty repository. The wizard walks through naming, template selection, environment setup, and inviting a teammate. The template set is deliberately small and well-maintained: SaaS starter, Landing page, API service, Waitlist, and Internal dashboard.
Open-source ecosystem
The platform core is AGPL-3.0-only, an OSI-approved license; the CLI and SDK packages are Apache-2.0 so they can be embedded anywhere. Self-hosters get a complete product, and the cloud is monetized on hosting, capacity, and team controls.
Try it with your cofounder this week.
Free is genuinely useful for a founder and one collaborator.