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FOSSIL: A complete Git alternative (lemmy.world)

submitted 2 weeks ago* (last edited 6 days ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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I would like to introduce you lovely OpenSource Lovers to a GIT-Alternative called FOSSIL that I also stumbled upon because of this Blog. It's basically opensource Github-in-a-box which means it's an SCM with:

Bug-tracker
Ticketting-system
Forum
Wiki-system
even a Chat-functionality
Has built-in GUI
Also has a Web-Server
Self-Hostable like Gitea/Forgejo

& the best part it's all in ONE STANDALONE FILE!!! which is extremely lightweight which you can copy to your $PATH & works even in crappy internet. how cool is that!!

However this tool supports a completely different style of development in FOSS called the "Cathedral-Style" whereas GIT suports a "Bazaar-Style" The person behind Fossil is the creator of SQLite, Dr.Richard Hipp & they even made other projects to support Fossil like a PIC-Like language called PikChr Well just in case; here's a list of difference between Git vs Fossil & guess what!! they even have a hosting service called CHISEL

Listen; Just check it out & use it for fun in your spare time even with the flaws it has (& Try out Darcs & Pijul as well)

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 weeks ago

Tho we also got mercurial right?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I love Fossil and use it for all my personal projects! I use syncthing to keep my all my repositories updated across devices and it works great!

I do wish I better understood either self-hosting or that there were more web hosts though, it would make collaboration easier when I feel like sharing. A git(hub) bridge could do it too I guess...

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

It's interesting that OP is here talking about this being better than git because it has its own server, but the only person besides op claiming to use it is syncing with syncthing 🤔

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

The binary executable for Fossil is a single file (repos are also single files, sqlite databases). That one executable does all the VCS functions but it also has a built-in web server that will host repos as a little customizable website. That's how you access the wiki, chat, forums, and ticketing system. You can also configure the repo, view timelines, view code, and all that stuff.

One can set up a proxy and publicly self-host the repo over the internet. That's what the official fossil site is, a hosted repo of it's own source code. I didn't feel like setting up a local web host, an ngnx reverse proxy, figuring out vpn for remote access, etc etc. So i just use synching and only run locally, because it's easier for me.

That's another nice thing about fossil, it's quite flexible and can grow with the needs of the project.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (8 children)

Opinions vary -- you're saying the single-file thing is good, but to me that's quite a downside honestly. For backup purposes, if nothing else, I would rather my software not need to copy the entire file every time a tiny change to it happens. And all those other server based features, imo, are bloat that I wouldn't use.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Seems pretty cool! I have to try it out. Thanks for sharing.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

No problems, just keep an open mind while trying it out Oh & if possible check out Darcs & Pijul in your spare time

They're both Patch-Oriented

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