Free Version Control and Issue Tracking System

Question

What are the most convenient, intuitive and easy to use Freeware Version ControlSystem and Issue Tracking system for home PC (without a LAN)?

Note that, GUIs are a must for both.

Answer 1

Install your own copy of Trac, it runs by default with SQLite so you won't need a database server (I guess the home computer doesn't have many resources).

For Version Control SVN will be just fine, if you use Windows try VisualSVN for a faster setup.

Answer 2

You could use an online hosted version. Project Locker provide source control and issue tracking and have a free plan (up to 500MB). Beanstalk also do online source control (100MB).

You can use any of the free UI applications to access the source control repositories (such as TortoiseSVN, SmartSVN, etc..)

Answer 3

For version control I use Visual SVN which is a setup for a windows based user (takes care of all the install details of apache, bsd, etc.). It just works and is easy to use/manage. Then you need an SVN client - Tortoise is probably the best for it's windows explorer integration. This is free. If you want SVN integration in Visual Studio then you may want to splurge on a copy of Visual SVN for your client!

Also regarding version control don't underestimate the power of CodePlex or Google Code! As long as you don't mind people looking at your work (IE not for secret stuff) then this is a great resource that requires far less management on your part. Also great for distributed teams!

For bug and defect tracking you can't beat CounterSoft's Gemini product. This is a web based tool that allows you to track projects, bugs, call tickets, etc. Very nice for the professional consultant.

If you need something more robust for a bigger team and a team that is agile specific then take a look at VersionOne's products. Their first year of the basic package is free!

Answer 4

I recommend Redmine for issue tracking/project management, and Git for version control. Redmine supports most SCM:s like CVS, Subversion, Git, Darcs, Mercurial, and Bazaar.

Redmine features:

• Multiple projects support
• Flexible role based access control
• Flexible issue tracking system
• Gantt chart and calendar
• News, documents & files management
• Feeds & email notifications
• Per project wiki
• Per project forums
• Time tracking
• Custom fields for issues, time-entries, projects and users
• SCM integration (SVN, CVS, Git, Mercurial, Bazaar and Darcs)
• Issue creation via email
• Multiple LDAP authentication support
• User self-registration support
• Multilanguage support
• Multiple databases support

For extremely easy installation, Redmine can be installed using Bitnami, available for Windows, Mac and Linux. Bitnami will install all required dependencies for you and everything may be uninstalled just as easily.

Edit: For Windows, Subversion + TortoiseSVN is probably your best bet for version control.

Answer 5

You can use SVN/CVS, which has loads of GUI utilities to back it up on almost every OS out there. It is rock stable. For issue tracking bugzilla is just perfect for any level of expertise and it integrates well. Web based interface is also pretty simple and intuitive.