Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Fossil VS SpectrumSCM

Compare Fossil VS SpectrumSCM and see what are their differences

Fossil logo Fossil

Simple, high-reliability, distributed software configuration management

SpectrumSCM logo SpectrumSCM

Spectrum Software, Inc, GA USA
  • Fossil Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-23
Not present

Fossil features and specs

  • Version Control Integration
    Fossil is a distributed version control system that integrates bug tracking, a wiki, and a blog, providing a comprehensive development environment in one tool.
  • Self-Contained
    Fossil is a single executable that contains everything needed, making it easy to install and manage with low dependency overhead.
  • Simple UI
    Fossil includes a built-in, easy-to-use web interface that allows users to browse repositories, manage tickets, and handle wiki content without needing separate tools.
  • SQLite Backend
    Fossil uses an SQLite database to store all its data, making it reliable, efficient, and easy to backup and transfer.
  • Integrated Bug Tracking
    The integrated bug tracking system allows developers to manage issues and bugs directly within the same environment, streamlining the workflow.
  • Cross-Platform
    Fossil is designed to work on multiple operating systems, including Linux, macOS, and Windows, ensuring a consistent experience across different environments.
  • Strong Documentation
    Fossil comes with extensive documentation and a supportive community, which helps users quickly get up to speed and solve issues.

Possible disadvantages of Fossil

  • Niche User Base
    Fossil has a relatively small user base compared to more popular version control systems like Git, which may result in fewer resources and community support.
  • Limited Third-Party Integration
    Due to its smaller market share, Fossil has fewer integrations and third-party tools available compared to its competitors, limiting extensibility.
  • Learning Curve
    Users new to Fossil might find its all-in-one approach with integrated tools to be complex initially, especially if they are accustomed to using separate systems for version control, bug tracking, and wikis.
  • Performance
    While suitable for many projects, Fossil might not perform as well as other VCS systems when handling very large repositories or extremely high volumes of transactions.
  • UI Customization
    The built-in web interface, while simple and functional, may lack the level of customization and modern design aesthetics that some users expect.

SpectrumSCM features and specs

No features have been listed yet.

Analysis of Fossil

Overall verdict

  • Fossil is a solid choice for users looking for a simple and reliable SCM system without the overhead of more complex alternatives like Git. It is particularly well-suited for projects where integrated features like bug tracking and wikis are beneficial. However, for very large or complex projects, or where external integration with other tools is crucial, other options might be more suitable.

Why this product is good

  • Fossil is a versatile software configuration management (SCM) system that integrates distributed version control, bug tracking, a wiki, and a blog into a single, simple web interface. It emphasizes simplicity, ease of use, and consistency across platforms, making it a great tool for small to medium-sized projects. Its built-in web interface is intuitive, and it doesn't require a separate server setup, which can be convenient for many users. Additionally, Fossil is lightweight and has a strong focus on integrity and reliability, evident from its use in managing the source code of SQLite, a project known for its robustness.

Recommended for

    Fossil is recommended for small to medium-sized projects, teams looking for an easy-to-use SCM with integrated project management features, and individuals or groups working on portable and straightforward development setups. It's also a good choice for those who prioritize security and reliability, given its backing by projects like the development of SQLite.

Fossil videos

Why Is EVERYONE Giving This Watch 5 Stars?! - A Brutally Honest Fossil Watch Review

More videos:

  • Review - What Happened To Fossil Watches?
  • Tutorial - Fossil watch real vs. fake review. How to tell counterfeit Fossil wrist watch

SpectrumSCM videos

No SpectrumSCM videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

Add video

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Fossil and SpectrumSCM)
Code Collaboration
86 86%
14% 14
Git
85 85%
15% 15
Project Management
100 100%
0% 0
A/B Testing
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Fossil seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 26 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Fossil mentions (26)

  • Git Bug: Distributed, Offline-First Bug Tracker Embedded in Git, with Bridges
    Fossil[0] has bug tracking as a standard feature, and through the HTTP role-based authentication, you are able to set up users with different privileges; for instance, being able to read and write the bug tracker without the ability to push new code. [0]: https://fossil-scm.org/home/doc/trunk/www/index.wiki. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 month ago
  • I struggled with Git, so I'm making a game to spare others the pain
    Sort of repeating a nested comment, but - I've been using fossil ( https://fossil-scm.org/home/doc/trunk/www/index.wiki ) for years and absolutely love it. Single executable you just download and put in your path. Sane, well-documented interface (CLI, API and web). Full repo in a single SQLite file. Highly intelligent and efficient diff-based storage and compression (including network transfers). Rock-solid code.... - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • jj: A Git-compatible VCS that is both simple and powerful
    Neither do I. This discussion isn't about what someone else runs or doesn't run on their computers. By all means, run `jj`. Or use `fossil`[1], which I maintain is technically superior to both `git` and `jj` (if you disagree, show me another VCS that also gives me a ticketing system, wiki, documentation system, forum and webui, all from a single executeable that allows me to set everything up with a few command... - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • Htmx Is Composable?
    Feedback to author: The diagram and explanation took a beat longer than normal to scan, since this buries a bit that it's not about the beautiful source control system called fossil shipped as a composition of modules: https://fossil-scm.org/home/doc/trunk/www/index.wiki Great diagrams, so of course that's the first thing a reader will skim. People biuld things based on git all the time, the diagram looks like... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Cloudflare API Down
    There are (all too rare) tools that back those objects with git as well. And there's always fossil ... https://fossil-scm.org/home/doc/trunk/www/index.wiki But it's not git. :-(. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
View more

SpectrumSCM mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of SpectrumSCM yet. Tracking of SpectrumSCM recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Fossil and SpectrumSCM, you can also consider the following products

GitLab - Create, review and deploy code together with GitLab open source git repo management software | GitLab

Git for Windows - We bring the awesome Git SCM to Windows

Mercurial SCM - Mercurial is a free, distributed source control management tool.

IBM Engineering Workflow Management - IBM Engineering Workflow Management lets you use one tool to collaborate across teams, manage code, run meetings, plan sprints and track work - cloud or on-premise.

Git - Git is a free and open source version control system designed to handle everything from small to very large projects with speed and efficiency. It is easy to learn and lightweight with lighting fast performance that outclasses competitors.

CVS (Concurrent Versions System) - CVS is a centralized version control system, an important component of Source Configuration...