The data format is literally a SQLITE DB, which is the most used DB on the planet.
Binaries are available for all the major OS's and many "alternative" ones.
I use Fossil-SCM for my personal notes. Works great. I even run many websites with Fossil-SCM as the wiki is fabulous for a super easy to deploy and super easy to edit website, even if there is zero code in the VCS portion.
I also use fossil on USB sticks for my legal information on my death. I include fossil binaries for every platform, so whenever I'm dead my next of kin can just plug in the USB stick I update every year and hand to them and double click and boom, fossil-scm opens with a VCS of all my files and documents, financials, etc, a wiki with next steps, etc. Easy peasy, and they get everything they need to take care of all the stuff to handle my estate, in a nice easy to use manner, with basically no work on my part.
Me too. My case is a little different though. I realized the tickets database is a generic sqlite database you can use as you wish, but comes with a web server, syncing, and version control out of the box. It was simple to create a CGI app in my language of choice that gave me a web interface to my notes system but without having to implement my own authentication. If I want to work locally using Emacs, I can. If I want a full or partial backup in text format, it's a regular sqlite dump of the tickets database.
Having only tried Fossil for this briefly: do you have any recommendations? Viewing is pretty simple, and I agree about the portability / SQLite is a great fallback, but modifying is complex enough to keep me from adopting it.
E.g. I can't find a way to add files/images/make commits in the UI at all. I can make wiki pages or tickets in there (honestly, the wiki probably covers 99% of what I want, aside from it not being very streamlined to say the least), but I haven't found a way to add files except via `fossil add` on the CLI. Have I just missed it?
Otherwise, the main things keeping me from being more interested is that it's a large blob -> harder to sync, and there don't seem to be any mobile-friendly implementations (e.g. no app that just runs it). A folder of markdown files and images/etc to embed via `` is dramatically easier and more flexible on both of those fronts... but I do miss having a history.
Which requires running a fossil server that you can access anywhere, i.e. it has a custom and unique syncing system. That is... a rather significant requirement, compared to using a general file-syncing thing that you may already have.
But yes, you have a good point - once you have a server running, syncing is very efficient.
The data format is literally a SQLITE DB, which is the most used DB on the planet.
Binaries are available for all the major OS's and many "alternative" ones.
I use Fossil-SCM for my personal notes. Works great. I even run many websites with Fossil-SCM as the wiki is fabulous for a super easy to deploy and super easy to edit website, even if there is zero code in the VCS portion.
I also use fossil on USB sticks for my legal information on my death. I include fossil binaries for every platform, so whenever I'm dead my next of kin can just plug in the USB stick I update every year and hand to them and double click and boom, fossil-scm opens with a VCS of all my files and documents, financials, etc, a wiki with next steps, etc. Easy peasy, and they get everything they need to take care of all the stuff to handle my estate, in a nice easy to use manner, with basically no work on my part.