Alioth is a FusionForge

FusionForge

FusionForge is a free software application descendant of the forge originally created for running the SourceForge.net platform...

 system run by the Debian

Debian

Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...

 project for development of free software

Free software

Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...

 and free documentation,
especially software or documentation to do with Debian.

Most of the projects hosted by Alioth are packaging existing software in the Debian format

Deb (file format)

deb is the extension of the Debian software package format and the most often used name for such binary packages. Like the "Deb" part of the term Debian, it originates from the name of Debra, erstwhile girlfriend and now ex-wife of Debian's founder Ian Murdock.Debian packages are also used in...

. However there are some notable non-Debian projects hosted, like SANE

Scanner Access Now Easy

Scanner Access Now Easy is an application programming interface that provides standardized access to any raster image scanner hardware ....

 project.

History

Alioth was announced in March 2003. Originally Alioth was to be hosted on the SourceForge code base; the Free Software version of GForge

GForge

GForge is a free software fork of the web-based project-management and collaboration software originally created for SourceForge, called Savane...

 was chosen later as it avoided the need to duplicate effort spent on rebranding SourceForge.
Since 2009 Alioth runs a GForge descendant called FusionForge

FusionForge

FusionForge is a free software application descendant of the forge originally created for running the SourceForge.net platform...

.

Alioth administrators include Raphaël Hertzog and Roland Mas.