Looking for an uber-simple issue/bug tracking system, as simple as possible. It's just going to be for me to keep track of freelance web development projects. Everything I've found has way too much (milestones, ability to assign to different users, severity levels, calendars, wikis, etc.), and I can't seem to find anything stripped down.
Self-hosted or not, doesn't matter. Anything you guys can recommend?
I don't usually recommend this, but spreadsheets can work for issue tracking. There's a lot of stuff they won't do, but most of that is stuff you apparently don't want.
I used Acunote for a long time a my issue tool for our distributed dev team.
I really liked its simplicity, but it is a little SCRUM focused if you are using it for just issue tracking, and not completete task management.
It may work though as really it is just a simple way to group and assign notes.
Zen desk works well for support work.
However I am currently using Assembla, as it has loads of features, sensible pricing, and is very simple to use.
You could try Mantis. I have participated in two successful implementations some years ago, and their are still in use. It is extremely simple, with a nice and minimalistic interface. So simple that in one case was used by non IT people to fill helpdesk request.
Play with the demo at: http://www.mantisbt.org/demo/my_view_page.php
Finally, you can host it locally, or you can select one of the hosting options.
You should have a look at VisionProject. It is very simple and you can strip down the UI very simple to only include the fields that you are interested to see. Also, you can remove a lot of functionality and tabs as well. We bought the system this spring and are really happy with it. The user-friendly UI is one of the reasons why we like it so much.
You may check out Issue Tracking Anywhere. It's a web based bug tracking system which is easy to use. Both standalone and hosted editions are available.
I am personally using FengOffice, self hosted. Tried many PM software - Redmine, Mantis, Bugzilla, but finally only OpenGoo [now FengOffice] had all the functions I needed. It is relatively easy to install, and has VERY big number of functions, you can use it in the very small manner, e. g. create a project and only use tasks, then learn new functions in next few months.
For personal projects, I use OneNote. It can tie in with Outlook to link emails, tasks and calendar events. It's light and simple without all the team based stuff, but can journal and organize projects and still provide decent task management.
For Mac, there are several alternatives similar to Onenote. My favorite is Circus Ponies' Notebook. http://www.circusponies.com/notebook/features
Try VisionProject. It has a lot and can therefore look a bit much by the looks of it. But, since it is so configurable, you can really almost remove everything. I tried that in the beginning of working with it and I ended up with almost nothing on the screen. The good thing about it is that it costs like a simple Issue Tracking System but gives you Project Management, Document Management, Time Management and Helpdesk as well. This enables you to grow the business in the system without having to pay anything extra.
I don't know what you're using for source control, but I really like GitHub's issue tracker. It's simple and nicely integrated. For example, in a commit message you can write something like "Fixed the doodat. Closes issue #3" and within the commit you'll get a nice hyperlink to issue 3 and vice-versa.
I've always liked Lighthouse - very well designed. Although it contains alot of the features you mentioned you didn't want they are implemented in such an intuitive fashion that they are not obnoxious.
I personally use Trac mostly because it is free, integrates easily with svn (ability to integrate with git), and auto-installs on my hosting company.
Try bugup. really simple and powerfull and really low cost compare to other... http://www.informup.com/BugUp-Bug-Tracking-System.aspx
Look at Artifacts. We are really happy with this smart product!
I've been happy with BugTracker.Net. Highly configurable and functions almost like a spreadsheet.
Mike, how about trying something like a simple To Do list app? Or does the system have to be web-based? Did you try Backpack which just has really simple to do lists organised under Pages (which could be projects for you).
If you are on a Mac and can go offline, I would recommend Things which is again a To Do list.
I think a lot of it depends on factors like do you want it web-based and for multiple users or is an offline app only accessible to you good enough.
Of course, I would have to plug our own product fixx which is free for freelancers. Although it does have all that extra metadata, the great thing is that nearly everything is optional, so you could just type an issue title and create an issue (akin to ToDo list).
How about simple To-Do List? If you're looking for a issue-tracking system, I would recommend Youtrack - web-based keyboard-centric bug tracker. The UI is not bloated, you can manipulate your issues using two controls - search field and command window, almost all the actions can be performed using short-cuts. Summary is the only required field, so you wont waste much time on issue reporting.
