cgit vs Phabricator
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 | Phabricator |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Category | Developer Tools & Git | Developer Tools & Git |
| License | GPL-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | C | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 800 | ★ 12,291 |
| First released | 2006 | 2011 |
| Replaces | GitHub | GitHub, Jira |
What are cgit and Phabricator?
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
Phabricator
Phabricator is a collection of open-source tools for code review, repository hosting, bug tracking, and project management. Although original development has ended, the community fork Phorge continues it.
- Differential code review
- Repository hosting
- Maniphest task tracking
- Audit and herald rules
cgit vs Phabricator: key differences
Cgit is written in C, while Phabricator is built with PHP. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for cgit versus Apache-2.0 for Phabricator. Cgit is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Phabricator. Cgit is the more established project (first released 2006), while Phabricator arrived in 2011. Phabricator has the considerably larger community, at 12,291 GitHub stars versus 800.
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 Phabricator if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Mature project with 12.3k GitHub stars
- Written in PHP
Frequently asked questions
Is cgit or Phabricator better?
Neither is universally better. Phabricator has the larger community, while cgit is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are cgit and Phabricator free and open-source?
Yes. cgit is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Phabricator under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run cgit and Phabricator with Docker?
cgit: check the project docs for container support. Phabricator: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, cgit or Phabricator?
cgit has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Phabricator. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.