No
matter how good you think your code is there is always going to be a
bug/defect of some kind. Defect numbers may range from 1 to thousands
so it’s important to have a very good tracking tool.
There are commercial tools out there but I figured I’d focus on the open
source tools.
Below are some open source tracking tools that you can use for your
projects to track bugs/defects, issues, enhancements and much more.
Abuky:
Abuky stands for the Aoo BUg tracKing sYstem, while AOO stands for Art
Of Open Source. Abuky is a system for tracking bugs and aiding the
developer to fix them, written in Java with JSP as web interface. Requirement:
Linux, Windows, Solaris
Anthill Bug Manager: A tool that aids code
development by keeping track of bugs in a multi-project, multi-developer
environment. It accomplishes this with a clean, simple, and fast
interface that contains all the essential features
but avoids the enormous complexity associated with most other projects
of this type. Requirement: OS Independent
BTsys:
A lightweight desktop bug tracking system, written using C# and ADO.NET
for small developer teams. Easy to install and learn how to use. Requirement:All
32-bit MS Windows (95/98/NT/2000/XP)
Bug-A-Boo:
A web based bug reporting system for Linux. It runs on any web server
providing CGI
functionality. Bug-A-Boo does not need any database server but brings
along its own local tables it accesses with tdbengine.Requirement:
Linux
BugBye:
A web-based bugtracking system developed using ASP.NET technology and
C# as scripting language. It offers all the features needed to manage
improvement, bugs, and so on. It also provide statistics help-desk
management, and further options which allow the user to simplify all the
stage of project development and maintainance. Requirement:
All 32-bit MS Windows (95/98/NT/2000/XP)
Bugfree: A lightweight and simple web-based bug
tracking system available in Chinese and English. Requirement:
Windows
Buglog:
Allows you to easily record bugs into a database along with description
and screenshots of the bugs (file upload feature). The BLT allows
tracking of all bugs on a project-wise basis thus making it a bug
logging and tracking solution. BuglogV2 incorporates a powerful search
feature allowing developers to locate bugs effortlessly. Requirement:
All 32-bit MS Windows(95/98/NT/2000/XP)
BugNet:
A web based bug / issue tracking application programmed in C# and
asp.net. The main goals are to keep the codebase simple, well
documented, easy to deploy and scalable. Major features include: Generic
DAL / XHTML and CSS layout. Requirement: All 32-bit MS
Windows (95/98/NT/2000/XP)
BugRat:
Java software that provides a sophisticated, flexible bug reporting and
tracking system.
BUGS – The Bug Genie: A web-based bug tracking tool,
designed with ease of use as it’s foremost goal, but also features a
high level of flexibility for developers and administrators. Requirement:
PHP4 (or later) and MySQL.
Bugs Online: Originally developed in 1997 to serve
as the primary bug and issue tracking system to be utilized during a
large development oriented project. The Bugs Online system is a very
flexible and capable system for bug and issue tracking. Requirement:
Windows NT 4.0 SP3+, MS IIS 3 w/ ASP
BugtrackWeb based bug tracking system written in
Perl/DBI. Supports multiple users, projects, components, versions and
email notification. Requirement: Linux, Solaris,
Windows
BugTracker.NET:
Web-based bug or issue tracker written using ASP.NET, C#, and Microsoft
SQL Server/MSDE. It is in daily use by hundreds (maybe thousands) of
development and support teams around the world. Requirement:
All 32-bit MS Windows (95/98/NT/2000/XP)
Bugzilla:
Features include: integrated, product-based granular security schema,
inter-bug dependencies and dependency graphing, advanced reporting
capabilities, a robust, stable RDBMS back-end, extensive
configurability, a very well-understood and well-thought-out natural bug
resolution protocol, email, XML, console, and HTTP APIs, available
integration with automated software configuration management systems,
including Perforce and CVS (through the Bugzilla email interface and
checkin/checkout scripts), too many more features to list.
CodeTrack: Bug database with a friendly web front
end aimed at medium and small development shops. Particularly suited for
intranet and extranet environments, CodeTrack includes built-in strong
authentication, and allows custom access control to individual projects.
No database is required as bug data and developer notes are stored
using simple XML text files. Requirement: Apache and
PHP
Debian
bug tracking software: The Debian bug tracking system is a set of
scripts which maintain a database of problem reports. Requirement:
Unix
DITrack
(Distributed Issue Tracker): Implemented in Python and runs in UNIX
(*BSD, Linux, MacOS X) and Windows environment.
Ditz:
Open source distributed issue tracker designed to work with distributed
version control systems written in Ruby
eTraxis:
A web-based bug tracking system with unlimited number of custom
workflow templates. Some of the main features are: fully custom
templates, advanced filters, LDAP support, email notifications,
subscriptions, reminders, flexible permissions management, graphical
project metrics, etc. Requirement: OS independent
Eventum: A user-friendly and flexible issue
tracking system that can be used by a support department to track
incoming technical support requests, or by a software development team
to quickly organize tasks and bugs. Requirement: PHP,
MySQL
Flyspray:
Originally developed for the Psi project, Flyspray is an easy to use
bug tracking system for those who do not require all the complexities of
something like Bugzilla. It supports multiple users, file attachments,
and Jabber notifications. Requirement: Web Environment
FOSSology:
Started out as an internal development effort at Hewlett Packard
Company (HP).
Gjallar:
Highly customizable issue tracker with advanced email integration and
ability to work offline and synchronize with server. Requirement:
Windows
GNATS:
A portable incident/bug report/help request-tracking system which runs
on UNIX-like
operating systems. It easily handles thousands of problem reports, has
been in wide use since the early 90s, and can do most of its operations
over e-mail. Several front end interfaces exist, including command line,
emacs, and Tcl/Tk interfaces. There are also a number of Web (CGI)
interfaces written in scripting languages like Perl and Python. Requirement:
OS Independent
Helis: Iincludes the main features of most bug
tracking systems. Requirement:Linux web server (php
4/mysql + cgi)
Issue Tracker: by ASP.NET. Issues can be tracked,
related issues can be displayed & more. Issue Tracker supports MS
Access & MSSQL for storing the data.
Issue Tracker Product: A straight forward and user
friendly web application built on top of the Zope application server. Requirement:
OS Independent, Zope
itracker: An issue tracking system designed to
support projects with independent user bases. Features include multiple
versions and components, detailed issue histories and email
notifications. Soon based on Java Spring 2.0 and Hibernate. Requirement:
OS Independent
JitterBug: A web based bug tracking system.
JitterBug operates by receiving bug reports via email or a web form.
Authenticated users can then reply to the message, move it between
different categories or add notes to it. In some ways JitterBug is like a
communal web based email system. This web page is itself a JitterBug
page.
jTrac: A
generic issue-tracking web-application that can be easily customized by
adding custom fields and drop-downs. Features include customizable
workflow, field level permissions, e-mail integration, file attachments
and a detailed history view. Requirement: OS
Independent
Kwok Information Server: IT web application,
providing a centralized application for managing IT assets, software
licenses, service contracts, issues, and contacts. Additional modules
include portal, RSS, and blogs.
Lighthouse Pro: ColdFusion bug tracking application.
It lets you easily track bugs and issues for a project. With Lighthouse
Pro, you can monitor the complete life cycle of an issue, from creation
to QA to closure.
Mantis:
A php/MySQL/web based bugtracking system. Requirement:
Windows, MacOS, OS/2, and a variety of Unix operating systems. Any web
browser should be able to function as a clientWindows, MacOS, OS/2
oops-easytrack:
A Bug Tracking System, implemented as a LAN-based and a web-based
version. Bugs are created, modified, logged or searched. Users,
projects,components and releases can be administered. Reports of 4 types
may be generated. Requirement: OS Independent
Open Track: A problem tracking(PR) system that is
table driven and easily
configurable/customizable for a variety of PR applications. Project
defect tracking, help desk tracking, and requirements gathering can be
easily handled by OpenTrack.
PEST: A bug tracking system written especially for a
web enviroment. It supports good testing and bug tracking processes, as
well as notification.
phpBugTracker: Provides a codebase that is
independent of the database and presentation layers.
Requirement: webserver with PHP 4.1.0+
Project Dune: Mostly a web-based issue tracker with
integrated modules: Cocomo II estimates, Scrum tasks, timesheet, simple
customer management and a browser-based document writer. Requirement:
OS Independent
Project
Open: Web-based ERP/Project Management software for organizations
with 2-2000 users
RadTracker: A MYSQL-PHP web based issue tracking
system built for healthcare but generic enough for most needs. Designed
to ease the support of multiple idiosyncratic information systems
needing their own knowledge base and support mechanism.
Redmine:
Flexible project management web application. Written using Ruby on
Rails framework, it is cross-platform and cross-database. Requirement:
Ruby and Ruby on Rails must be installed.
Request
Tracker: RT is an industrial-grade ticketing system. It lets a
group of people intelligently and efficiently manage requests submitted
by a community of users. RT is used by systems administrators, customer
support staffs, NOCs, developers and even marketing departments at over a
thousand sites around the world. Requirement: Written
in object-oriented Perl, RT
is a high-level, portable, platform independent system
Roundup Issue Tracker: Roundup is a simple-to-use
and -install issue-tracking system with command-line, web and e-mail
interfaces. It is based on the winning design from Ka-Ping Yee in the
Software Carpentry “Track” design competition.
Scarab:
The goal of the Scarab project is to build an Issue / Defect tracking
system that has the following features: A full feature set similar to
those found in other Issue / Defect tracking systems: data entry,
queries, reports, notifications to interested parties, collaborative
accumulation of comments, dependency tracking In addition to the
standard features, Scarab has fully customizable and unlimited numbers
of Modules (your various projects), Issue types (Defect, Enhancement,
etc), Attributes (Operating System, Status, Priority, etc), Attribute
options (P1, P2, P3) which can all be defined on a per Module basis so
that each of your modules is configured for your specific tracking
requirements. Built using Java Servlet technology for speed,
scalability, maintainability, and ease of installation. Import/Export
ability via XML allowing for easy migration from other systems (like
Bugzilla). Modular code design that allows manageable modifications of
existing and new features over time. Fully customizable through a set of
administrative pages. Easily modified UI look and feel. Can be
integrated into larger systems by re-implementing key interfaces.
Stabilizer:
The Stabilizer bugtracking system aims to quickly stabilize buggy GUI
applications so that people can get real work done with them. Users
collaboratively and quickly stabilize a buggy GUI application simply by
using the application normally and reporting any bugs that they
encounter. As soon as a few people report the same bug, warnings will be
issued to all users whenever they are about to trigger that bug and
they will be given the opportunity to abort the input event — thus
avoiding the bug altogether and keeping the application stable. Requirement:
All POSIX (Linux/BSD/UNIX-like OSes), Linux
The
Bug Genie: Built with PHP, has multilanguage support & provides
an easy to use interface.
Trac:
An enhanced wiki and issue tracking system for software development
projects. Trac allows wiki markup in issue descriptions and commit
messages, creating links and seamless references between bugs, tasks,
changesets, files and wiki pages. A timeline shows all project events in
order, making getting an overview of the project and tracking progress
very easy. Requirement:Python, CGI-capable web server
Track+:
A web based issue tracking and project management application targeted
at medium to large commercial development projects. Track+ can be used
instantly, yet it is flexible and configurable. Track+ is easy to use,
provides user centric as well as project centric views, has configurable
workflows, supports e-mail submission of issues, and has a
comprehensive time and cost tracking module. Track+ is free to academic
institutions, open source projects, and charities, and generally free to
anybody up to 10 active users in the database. Track+ comes with the
complete source code. Requirement: OS Independent
(Written in an interpreted language)
TrackIt:
A Web-based project tracking tool that incorporates defect tracking
functionality. It is designed from the ground up to provide maximum
flexibility, customization, and most importantly, usefulness to the
developer. It has built-in support for various Extreme Programming
constructs, as well as full CVS and Subversion integration. It also
supports simple listings via HQL and advanced reporting via SQL. Requirement:
JRE 1.5
WebIssues
is an open source, multi-platform system for issue tracking and team
collaboration. The server can be installed on any host with PHP and
MySQL, PostgreSQL, Firebird or SQL Server. The client is a native
desktop application for both Windows and Linux.
WREQ:
Designed to be a distributed request/problem tracking system with
builtin knowledge database to help systems personnel to stay on top of
requests and to prompt knowledge sharing among all local support groups.
Requirement: To use wreq, first you must have perl
version 5 with GDBM support installed on your web server.
zenTrack:
Highly configurable bug tracking, project management, and help desk
solution. Project focus is on configurability, usability, and clean
code. Requirement: OS Independent
Please comment below on your thoughts about any of the tools listed
above and/or if you know of any other tools that should be added.