cgit vs Fossil
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted developer tools & git options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | cgit | Fossil |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Category | Developer Tools & Git | Developer Tools & Git |
| License | GPL-2.0 | BSD-2-Clause |
| Language | C | C |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | binary, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 800 | ★ 600 |
| First released | 2006 | 2006 |
| Replaces | GitHub | GitHub, Git |
What are cgit and Fossil?
cgit
cgit is a hyperfast web frontend for Git repositories written in C. It provides a read-only browsing interface ideal for publicly publishing source code.
- Extremely fast browsing
- Tiny resource footprint
- Caching layer for big repos
- Read-only repository viewer
Fossil
Fossil is a distributed version control system that bundles bug tracking, a wiki, forum, and web interface into a single self-contained executable. It powers the development of SQLite.
- Single-file executable
- Built-in wiki and forum
- Integrated bug tracking
- Self-contained web UI
cgit vs Fossil: key differences
Both projects are written in C. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for cgit versus BSD-2-Clause for Fossil.
Why pick each one
Choose cgit if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Choose Fossil if…
- Released under the BSD-2-Clause license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is cgit or Fossil better?
Neither is universally better. cgit has the larger community, while Fossil is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are cgit and Fossil free and open-source?
Yes. cgit is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Fossil under BSD-2-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run cgit and Fossil with Docker?
cgit: check the project docs for container support. Fossil: check the project docs for container support.