Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

SourceTree VS Fossil

Compare SourceTree VS Fossil and see what are their differences

SourceTree logo SourceTree

Mac and Windows client for Mercurial and Git.

Fossil logo Fossil

Simple, high-reliability, distributed software configuration management
  • SourceTree Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-23
  • Fossil Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-23

SourceTree features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    SourceTree offers an intuitive GUI for Git and Mercurial version control, making it easier for users who may not be comfortable with command-line operations.
  • Rich Feature Set
    Supports various Git functionalities like branching, merging, stash, rebase, and also offers visualizations of repository history and changes.
  • Integration with Bitbucket and GitHub
    Seamlessly integrates with popular repositories like Bitbucket and GitHub, providing enhanced features for working within these platforms.
  • Free to Use
    SourceTree is available for free, making it accessible for individual developers and small teams without any financial investment.
  • Cross-Platform
    Available for both Windows and macOS, providing versatility for users across different operating systems.

Possible disadvantages of SourceTree

  • Performance Issues
    Some users report slow performance, especially with large repositories or when performing complex Git operations.
  • Steep Learning Curve for Advanced Features
    While basic operations are straightforward, mastering the more advanced functionalities can be challenging for new users.
  • Occasional Bugs and Stability Issues
    Users have occasionally encountered bugs or crashes, affecting the stability of the application.
  • Lacks Some Advanced Git Features
    Although it covers a broad range of functionalities, some advanced Git features may still require command-line operations.
  • Limited Support and Documentation
    Compared to some other tools, users might find the support and documentation less comprehensive, potentially making problem-solving harder.

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.

SourceTree videos

SourceTree and Mercurial Version Control

More videos:

  • Review - Getting step up with git, GitBucket and SourceTree - Joomla Beat

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

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to SourceTree and Fossil)
Git
84 84%
16% 16
Code Collaboration
80 80%
20% 20
Git Tools
88 88%
12% 12
Project Management
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using SourceTree and Fossil. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare SourceTree and Fossil

SourceTree Reviews

Best Git GUI Clients of 2022: All Platforms Included
Sourcetree is a free Git GUI client and can work on both Windows or Mac. This tool is simple to use yet powerful, making it perfect for both beginners and advanced users. The clean and elegant interface makes it effortless and enjoyable to navigate through.
Boost Development Productivity With These 14 Git Clients for Windows and Mac
Sourcetree is a git GUI tool from the house of Atlassian, the IT tech company that also developed Bitbucket and Jira. Compared to other similar tools, Sourcetree offers a more powerful graphical user interface (GUI.)
Source: geekflare.com
Best Git GUI Clients for Windows
You can easily perform all the necessary Git-related tasks, such as cloning repositories (including the remote ones), pushing, pulling, committing, and merging changes. Both experienced users and beginners can work successfully with Sourcetree, tracking all changes, actions, and actors.
Source: blog.devart.com

Fossil Reviews

We have no reviews of Fossil yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Fossil seems to be a lot more popular than SourceTree. While we know about 25 links to Fossil, we've tracked only 2 mentions of SourceTree. 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.

SourceTree mentions (2)

  • Git as a Beginner
    I think a gui will be helpful, eg bitbucket sourcetree https://sourcetreeapp.com/. Source: over 2 years ago
  • WHAT IS SOURCETREE? HOW TO INSTALL IT?
    Now Let's Download Sourcetree: Go to https://sourcetreeapp.com/ then download the installer. - Source: dev.to / over 3 years ago

Fossil mentions (25)

  • 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 / 2 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 / 3 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
  • Git Based SDLC
    I don't think git should be the infrastructure of collaboration. It's good for long-lived artifacts, but isn't good for discussion, for rights management, ... Fossil (https://fossil-scm.org/home/doc/trunk/www/index.wiki) is of course better, but if git must remain, I believe the base infrastructure should be the mailing list. Patches, branches and releases can live inside a mailing list, it is naturally built for... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
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What are some alternatives?

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

GitKraken - The intuitive, fast, and beautiful cross-platform Git client.

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

GitHub Desktop - GitHub Desktop is a seamless way to contribute to projects on GitHub and GitHub Enterprise.

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

SmartGit - SmartGit is a front-end for the distributed version control system Git and runs on Windows, Mac OS...

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.