---
title: "GitHub Just Sealed All Its Open Source Code in an Apocalypse-Proof Vault"
description: "Learn about GitHub's decision to seal away its entire open source code in an apocalypse proof Arctic vault in order to help survivors."
date: "2020-07-21"
modified: "2020-07-30"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski.md"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/github-apocalypse-proof-vault"
categories:
  - "Future Society"
tags:
  - "arctic vault"
  - "github"
  - "the digest"
---

# GitHub Just Sealed All Its Open Source Code in an Apocalypse-Proof Vault

![GitHub sealed away its entire open-source depository in the Arctic World Archive, where it will hopefully survive society-ending catastrophes.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/github-sealed-archives-away-apocalypse-proof-vault.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: GitHub\</em\>*

## Locked Up

Earlier this month, the code management platform GitHub sealed away its archive of open source software in an Arctic vault so deep that they say it could survive a nuclear blast.

The mildly-outlandish idea behind the move, *[Engadget ](<https://www.engadget.com/github-arctic-vault-success-020240808.html>)*[reports](<https://www.engadget.com/github-arctic-vault-success-020240808.html>), is to give a boost to future generations after a hypothetical civilization-ending catastrophe. Should that happen, whatever civilization emerges from the ashes won't have to start from scratch and could instead tap the knowledge of [modern-day coders and engineers](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/operating-system-computers-salvaged-world-ends.md>).

## Historical Neighborhood

It's been almost a year since GitHub [announced its plan](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/microsoft-hiding-source-code-apocalypse-cave.md>) to store the code in the Arctic World Archive, an abandoned Norwegian coal mine protected by hundreds of meters of permafrost. The cache is stored on a type of microfilm that can be read with a physical magnifying glass.

Also sealed in the same mine are Vatican records, movies, and a vast array of other digital archives. And they're in good company: The ["Doomsday" Seed Vault](<https://futurism.com/doomsday-seed-vault-upgrades.md>) is located on the same island of Spitsbergen.

## Achievement Unlocked

It's difficult to imagine a societal catastrophe that's *just* cataclysmic enough that the most pressing need for a new society is to recover lost software. But it doesn't hurt to have a copy backed up just in case.

Still, as *Engadget* reports, the most obvious benefit for archiving the open-source software may be for the developers involved: Anyone who contributed to a project that made its way into the Arctic World Archive gets to display a little badge next to their username on GitHub.

**READ MORE:** [GitHub is done depositing its open source codes in the Arctic](<https://www.engadget.com/github-arctic-vault-success-020240808.html>) \[*Engadget*\]

**More on arctic vaults:** *[The Melting Arctic Is Releasing Poison, Disease and Nuclear Waste](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/melting-arctic-releasing-poison-disease-nuclear-waste.md>)*

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)

## More

- [Microsoft Is Hiding Source Code in an Apocalypse-Proof Cave](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/microsoft-hiding-source-code-apocalypse-cave.md>)
- [GitHub Says 92 Percent of Programmers Are Using AI](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/github-92-percent-programmers-using-ai.md>)
- [Code That Got Apollo 11 To the Moon Published in GitHub for Everyone to Access](<https://futurism.com/code-that-got-apollo-11-to-the-moon-published-in-github-for-everyone-to-access.md>)
- [Oreo Built a Doomsday Vault to Protect Its Cookies From a Harmless Asteroid](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/oreo-built-doomsday-vault-protect-cookies-harmless-asteroid.md>)
- [Secret iOS Source Code Has Leaked Onto the Internet](<https://futurism.com/secret-ios-source-code-leaked-internet.md>)
- [Elon Musk Bragged He Was Going to Open Source Twitter’s Code, Now Furious That Someone Leaked It Online](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-twitter-source-code.md>)
- [CrowdStrike Infested With “Self-Replicating Worms”](<https://futurism.com/crowdstrike-infested-self-replicating-worms.md>)
- [OpenAI Reportingly Hiring “Army” of Devs to Train AI to Replace Entry-Level Coders](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/openai-replace-entry-level-coders-ai.md>)