Cloudflare Released Open-Source Forge Tool for SDKs

The release aims to mitigate platform risk after the acquisition of a key third-party vendor.

Updated on Sept. 28, 2026 in Software

Isometric editorial illustration of a tall, brushed-metal server rack standing in a minimalist corridor, representing enterprise infrastructure. — Cloudflare has launched Forge, an open-source tool for generating software development kits and technical documentation, as the company shifts to managing its own API pipeline. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Cloudflare has released Forge, an open-source tool designed to automatically generate software development kits (SDKs), documentation, and command-line interfaces. The move follows the recent acquisition of Stainless, a third-party SDK generator previously used by the firm.

Why it matters

The shift toward internal, open-source generation tools reflects a broader industry trend of mitigating platform risk. By moving away from proprietary third-party dependencies, Cloudflare aims to maintain better control over its pipeline for over 3,500 API operations.

Cloudflare manages over 3,500 API operations that require synchronized SDKs and documentation. The company has moved to a TypeScript-based schema and generation system to ensure these components remain in sync, replacing its reliance on external tools.

The players

Cloudflare

A global provider of content delivery networks and security services that maintains an extensive API-first infrastructure.

Google

A major technology company building developer ecosystems and cloud infrastructure that recently expanded its open-source API tooling.

Stainless

A former provider of automated SDK generation services that ceased independent operations following an acquisition.

The details

Forge functions by ingesting an API definition to programmatically produce SDKs, command-line tools, and technical documentation. By utilizing a TypeScript-based schema, the system allows engineering teams to test API modifications against the resulting generated code before merging changes into the production branch. This internal pipeline replaces the functionality previously provided by Stainless, which wound down its products after being acquired by Anthropic.

April 2026: Cloudflare released a technical preview of its unified command-line interface.
May 18, 2026: Anthropic acquired the SDK generator company Stainless.
September 17, 2026: Google partnered with Speakeasy to open-source its code-generation suite.
September 28, 2026: Cloudflare released Forge under an Apache 2.0 license.

The Tech Race

This release follows closely behind Google’s September 17, 2026, move to open-source its own API code-generation suite. Together, these actions mark a competitive pivot toward standardizing how platforms build and maintain SDKs independently of third-party vendors.

Developers relying on Cloudflare APIs can expect improved consistency between API endpoints and their associated SDKs and documentation. The company plans to fully migrate its existing documentation to the Forge generator in the coming months.

The takeaway

The rapid move to open-source Forge highlights the fragility of relying on proprietary tools for core infrastructure. Developers should monitor the company's progress as it migrates its full API documentation to the new system in the coming months.