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Im looking for a free/open source bug tracking tool that doesn't require a database. Any Recommendations? Thanks in advance.


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closed as off topic by RWendi Sep 30 '08 at 20:42


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6 Answers

up vote 16 down vote accepted



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Given that any bug tracking tool will contain lists of bugs which can be queried in a variety of ways - It's highly unlikely that you can find a tool which does not use some kind of database.

However - You can look for one which uses a database which doesn't need a database engine like MySQL or MSSQL. You need to look for one which uses something like SQLite.


- Spiceworks Desktop
- BugWiki
- CVSTrac
- Trac
- Volo Fixer

Alternatively, there's always your spreadsheet or (as with my first bugtracker) pieces of paper that lived in a specific pile on my desk.

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I've used Mantis - and there is an Instant Mantis setup that essentially is like Mantis-in-a-box. Worked great

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FogBugz and SourceGear Vault integrate very well together and are very easy to set up and use.

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We went with JIRA, and never regretted it, although it has its annoying points. The main feature that sold it for us is the ability to define our own workflow, so we don't adjust our processes to the tool, but we can adjust the tool to our processes (however bad they are ;), as it should be.

It has a standalone version that has a built-in database, since you are so afraid of databases ;)

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You're asking for something that manages a large amount of data but doesn't require a database. Why?

MySQL is free, easy to manage, and can be installed on a linux system with one command if it isn't there already (there's a windows version too).

As a bug tracking tool (that does require a database), Bugzilla is pretty good. The one problem we do have with it is that it doesn't make it easy to track what bugs are in different branches: we often have multiple maintenance branches which different customers use and it can be hard to track what bugs are still in which. Apart from that it works well and not too hard to set up.

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Portability is one reason you might not want to be tethered to a database server. –  Oli Sep 24 '08 at 11:09
Webspace with a DB may be more expensive as webspace without a DB - for example. It's futile to give a long answer to induce another scenario when there are other possibilities (like TRAC with SQLite) –  Anheledir Sep 24 '08 at 11:11
I consider SQLite to be a database. –  Mark Baker Sep 25 '08 at 14:26
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