Darcs vs Fossil
Darcs
darcs.netFossil
fossil-scm.orgSide by side
| Figure | Darcs | Fossil |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Version Control Software | 8.8 (#3) | 8.3 (#15) |
| Security | The download page provides checksums alongside the listed Windows and Intel Mac binaries. | TLS encrypts Fossil communications and protects credentials, against eavesdropping, in-flight modification, and server-identity spoofing. |
| What it does | Darcs is a free and open-source, cross-platform version control system focused on changes (patches) rather than snapshots. | Fossil is a distributed software configuration management system for controlling and tracking software-project development and history. |
Plans
In their own words
Darcs
Darcs is a free, open-source version control system for Linux, macOS, Windows, and self-hosted deployment. It organizes work around patches, or changes, instead of snapshots. Every working directory is its own repository, allowing users to record changes offline and push them to another repository later. Interactive commands let users select changes for a patch, pull individual changes, and edit or discard a patch before sending it. Branching works by pushing and pulling between repositories, with each repository treated as a branch. The darcs send command supports email collaboration, so maintainers can accept or reject proposed patches without granting commit privileges. The project names hub.darcs.net and darcsweb for repository hosting. Darcs is written in Haskell and can be installed through Cabal, Stack, Nix, platform binaries, or a source tarball. It is volunteer-run and a Software Freedom Conservancy member.
Fossil
Fossil is a free, distributed software configuration management system for controlling and tracking software-project development and history. It combines version control with bug tracking, a wiki, forums, email alerts, chat, and technical notes. Its built-in web interface includes ticketing, documentation, timelines, full-text search, histories, diffs, ZIP downloads, and access management. Fossil is distributed as a single self-contained executable and can run as a standalone server or through CGI, SCGI, inetd, or stunnel. Official precompiled binaries are available for Linux, Mac, and Windows, and it can be self-hosted. Network communication uses HTTPS or SSH; synchronization supports autosync and manual merges, with autosync enabled by default. Repositories use an SQLite database with atomic transactions and consistency checks before commits. The project supports an automatic GitHub mirror and originated as a tool for the SQLite project. Fossil is offered under a 2-clause BSD license. Listed limitations include no file locking, large-file handling, sparse checkout, or nested repositories.