<title>Home</title>

<h3>What Is Fossil?</h3>

<div style='width:200px;float:right;border:2px solid #446979;padding:10px;margin:0px 10px;'>
<ul>
<li> [/uv/download.html | Download]
<li> [./quickstart.wiki | Quick Start]
<li> [./build.wiki | Install]
<li> [../COPYRIGHT-BSD2.txt | License]
<li> [./faq.wiki | FAQ]
<li> [./changes.wiki | Change Log]
<li> [./hacker-howto.wiki | Hacker How-To]
<li> [./fossil-v-git.wiki | Fossil vs. Git]
<li> [./hints.wiki | Tip &amp; Hints]
<li> [./permutedindex.html | Documentation Index]
<li> [https://fossil-scm.org/forum | Forum ]
</ul>
<img src="fossil3.gif" align="center">
</div>

<p>Fossil is a simple, high-reliability, distributed software configuration
management system with these advanced features:

  1.  <b>Integrated Bug Tracking, Wiki, Forum, and Technotes</b> -
      In addition to doing [./concepts.wiki | distributed version control]
      like Git and Mercurial,
      Fossil also supports [./bugtheory.wiki | bug tracking],
      [./wikitheory.wiki | wiki], [./forum.wiki | forum], and
      [./event.wiki | technotes].

  2.  <b>Built-in Web Interface</b> -
      Fossil has a built-in,
      [https://fossil-scm.org/skins/index.html | themeable],
      and intuitive [./webui.wiki | web interface]
      with a rich variety of information pages
      ([./webpage-ex.md|examples]) promoting situational awareness.
      <p>
      This entire website is just a running instance of Fossil.
      The pages you see here are all [./wikitheory.wiki | wiki] or
      [./embeddeddoc.wiki | embedded documentation] or (in the case of
      the [/uv/download.html|download] page)
      [./unvers.wiki | unversioned files].
      When you clone Fossil from one of its
      [./selfhost.wiki | self-hosting repositories],
      you get more than just source code - you get this entire website.

  3.  <b>Self-Contained</b> -
      Fossil is a single self-contained stand-alone executable.
      To install, simply download a
      [/uv/download.html | precompiled binary]
      for Linux, Mac, or Windows and put it on your $PATH.
      [./build.wiki | Easy-to-compile source code] is also available.

  4.  <b>Simple Networking</b> -
      No custom protocols or TCP ports.
      Fossil uses ordinary HTTP (or HTTPS or SSH)
      for network communications, so it works fine from behind
      restrictive firewalls, including [./quickstart.wiki#proxy|proxies].
      The protocol is
      [./stats.wiki | bandwidth efficient] to the point that Fossil can be
      used comfortably over dial-up or over the exceedingly slow Wifi on
      airliners.

  5.  <b>Simple Server Setup</b> -  No server is required, but if you want to
      set one up, Fossil supports [./server/ | several different server
      configurations] including CGI, SCGI, and direct HTTP.
      You can also easily set up your Fossil repository to automatically
      [./mirrortogithub.md | mirror content on GitHub].

  6.  <b>Autosync</b> -
      Fossil supports [./concepts.wiki#workflow | "autosync" mode]
      which helps to keep projects moving
      forward by reducing the amount of needless
      [./branching.wiki | forking and merging] often
      associated with distributed projects.

  7.  <b>Robust &amp; Reliable</b> -
      Fossil stores content using an [./fileformat.wiki | enduring file format]
      in an SQLite database so that transactions are
      atomic even if interrupted by a power loss or system crash.
      Automatic [./selfcheck.wiki | self-checks] verify that all aspects of
      the repository are consistent prior to each commit.

  8.  <b>Free and Open-Source</b> - Uses the [../COPYRIGHT-BSD2.txt|2-clause BSD license].

<hr>
<h3>Links For Fossil Users:</h3>

  *  [./permutedindex.html | Documentation index] with [/search?c=d | full text search].
  *  [./reviews.wiki | Testimonials] from satisfied Fossil users and
     [./quotes.wiki | Quotes] about Fossil and other DVCSes.
  *  [./faq.wiki | Frequently Asked Questions]
  *  The [./concepts.wiki | concepts] behind Fossil.
     [./whyusefossil.wiki#definitions | Another viewpoint].
  *  [./quickstart.wiki | Quick Start] guide to using Fossil.
  *  [./qandc.wiki | Questions &amp; Criticisms] directed at Fossil.
  *  [./build.wiki | Compiling and Installing]
  *  Fossil supports [./embeddeddoc.wiki | embedded documentation]
     that is versioned along with project source code.
  *  Fossil uses an [./fileformat.wiki | enduring file format] that is
     designed to be readable, searchable, and extensible by people
     not yet born.
  *  A tutorial on [./branching.wiki | branching], what it means and how
     to do it using Fossil.
  *  The [./selfcheck.wiki | automatic self-check] mechanism
     helps insure project integrity.
  *  Fossil contains a [./wikitheory.wiki | built-in wiki].
  *  An [./event.wiki | Event] is a special kind of wiki page associated
     with a point in time rather than a name.
  *  [./settings.wiki | Settings] control the behaviour of Fossil.
  *  [./ssl.wiki | Use SSL] to encrypt communication with the server.
  *  The [https://fossil-scm.org/forum|Fossil forum] is, as of mid-2018,
     the project's central communication channel. The
     [https://www.mail-archive.com/fossil-users@lists.fossil-scm.org
     | read-only mailing list archives] house discussions spanning Fossil's
     first decade.
  *  [./stats.wiki | Performance statistics] taken from real-world projects
     hosted on Fossil.
  *  How to [./shunning.wiki | delete content] from a Fossil repository.
  *  How Fossil does [./password.wiki | password management].
  *  On-line [/help | help].
  *  Documentation on the
     [http://www.sqliteconcepts.org/THManual.pdf | TH1 scripting language],
     used to customize [./custom_ticket.wiki | ticketing], and several other
     subsystems, including [./customskin.md | theming].
  *  List of [./th1.md | TH1 commands provided by Fossil itself] that expose
     its key functionality to TH1 scripts.
  *  List of [./th1-hooks.md | TH1 hooks exposed by Fossil] that enable
     customization of commands and web pages.
  *  A free hosting server for Fossil repositories is available at
     [http://chiselapp.com/].
  *  How to [./server/ | set up a server] for your repository.
  *  Customizing the [./custom_ticket.wiki | ticket system].
  *  Methods to [./checkin_names.wiki | identify a specific check-in].
  *  [./inout.wiki | Import and export] from and to Git.
  *  [./fossil-v-git.wiki | Fossil versus Git].
  *  [./fiveminutes.wiki | Up and running in 5 minutes as a single user]
     (contributed by Gilles Ganault on 2013-01-08).
  *  [./antibot.wiki | How Fossil defends against abuse by spiders and bots].

<h3>Links For Fossil Developers:</h3>

  *  [./contribute.wiki | Contributing] code or documentation to the
     Fossil project.
  *  [./theory1.wiki | Thoughts On The Design Of Fossil].
  *  [./pop.wiki | Principles Of Operation]
  *  [./tech_overview.wiki | A Technical Overview Of Fossil].
  *  The [./fileformat.wiki | file format] used by every content
     file stored in the repository.
  *  The [./delta_format.wiki | format of deltas] used to
     efficiently store changes between file revisions.
  *  The [./delta_encoder_algorithm.wiki | encoder algorithm] used to
     efficiently generate deltas.
  *  The [./sync.wiki | synchronization protocol].
