Fossil
Fossil is a simple, high-reliability, distributed software configuration management (SCM) system with version control, bug tracking, wiki, forum, chat and technotes all built in. Everything runs from a single self-contained executable backed by an SQLite database, and the project’s own website is itself a live instance of Fossil.
Key Features
- All-in-one project management — Distributed version control plus bug tracking, wiki, forum, email alerts, chat and technotes in a single system.
- Single-file executable — One self-contained binary for Linux, macOS or Windows; easy to compile from source and simple to install.
- Built-in web interface — A built-in, themeable and extensible web UI with rich, situational-awareness information pages.
- Self-host friendly — CPU and memory efficient; most projects host comfortably on a $5/month VPS or a Raspberry Pi.
- Simple networking — Ordinary HTTPS (or SSH) for sync works fine behind firewalls and proxies, and is bandwidth efficient even over dial-up or weak mobile connections.
- Robust and reliable — Stores content in an enduring file format inside an SQLite database, with atomic transactions and automatic self-checks before every commit.
Why Use Fossil?
Fossil is ideal when you want a single, self-contained tool that manages both code and project collaboration — no separate issue tracker, wiki or forum services to install and keep in sync. Its lightweight footprint and autosync workflow keep distributed teams productive with minimal infrastructure.
Use Cases
- Solo developers and small projects wanting one executable that covers code, bugs, wiki and discussion
- Self-hosting a project website and repository on a low-cost VPS or Raspberry Pi
- Teams needing a bandwidth-efficient, firewall-friendly distributed VCS
- Projects that value an atomic, corruption-resistant storage format
Platform
Linux · macOS · Windows
Licence
BSD 2-Clause