<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 & Hints]
<li> [./permutedindex.html | Documentation Index]
<li> [https://fossil-scm.org/forum | Forum ]
<li> [http://www.mail-archive.com/fossil-users@lists.fossil-scm.org | Mailing list archives]
</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>CGI/SCGI Enabled</b> - No server is required, but if you want to
set one up, Fossil supports four easy
[./server.wiki | server configurations].
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 & 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 & 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.
* There is a
[http://lists.fossil-scm.org:8080/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/fossil-users | mailing list]
(with publicly readable
[http://www.mail-archive.com/fossil-users@lists.fossil-scm.org | archives])
available for discussing Fossil issues.
* [./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.wiki | 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].