Developers have gained some incredible abilities over the past few years. Technologies like open source bug tracking have enabled developers to accomplish amazing things. That’s amazing. This, along with listening to customers, has made developers more important than ever in a business.
Every new app or website presents a challenge. We, the tech-savvy folks, call it “a bug “. These bugs give developers a lot of trouble. These bugs are why we use bug track systems to locate, document, and fix them.
Today, I will show you 10 great open-source bug tracking software that will help you get started in the bug tracking world.
Why use open-source bug trackers?
Open source solutions can be a great way to get familiar with new topics. Open source tools can be used to learn new things or to create a new workflow in your organization. The best part is that they are free to use.
The Essentials of Any Bug Tracking Software
When using bug track software, there are certain essential features you should have. These are the main features:
- Integration
Integrating APIs is crucial when choosing the right bug tracking tool. Developers may need to connect multiple apps for different purposes and uses. This feature is worth looking out for.
- Test Reports & Analytics
Bug tracking and QA testing are key. It is important to track test patterns and gather insights for future QA initiatives. It is easy to modify and share data from the bug tracking software’s test metrics with other team members and leaders.
- Communication
Bug tracking requires communication between project managers, developers, testers, and project managers. A bug tracking system provides a means for communicating effectively and will help to facilitate software development.
- Storage and retrieval
In a testing process, it is important to identify each entity. Bugs don’t have a different identity. A bug tracking tool that is effective must provide a way to store, retrieve (search) and organize bug tracking information.
A Big List of Advantages to Using Bug Reporting Tools
A bug tracking tool can bring you many benefits when you use it. These are just a few of the many benefits that a bug tracking tool can provide and how they can benefit you.
- Improved communication
Members can communicate and keep each other updated with ease using a bug tracking tool or issue tracker . It improves communication and allows for the resolution of problems right away.
Team members can easily access bug reports and updates using the Bug Tracking Tools . They allow staff to collaborate in solving problems. Good bug tracking tools improve communication and make it easier to solve problems together.
- More products are made
You can produce better products in a shorter time if you improve your bug tracking speed. You will be able deliver regular updates and respond to customer feedback and issues faster if you have faster bug tracking.
Bug tracking tools can be used to improve synchronization with agile methodologies. You can push out regular updates and fix existing issues actively.
Detecting problems early
Bug tracking tools are valuable in identifying trends and preventing them from becoming a problem. This is done by analysing the causes of issues and trying to identify patterns in your code.
These benefits will make bug tracking much easier. You can request it as a custom feature if it doesn’t have it. However, you should be prepared to pay more.
- Lowering development expenses
Bug issues can be solved quickly and tracked faster. This saves both time and money. Also, there will be fewer testers. Generally, lower software development and testing costs are a result of improving the effectiveness of software development. This results in more money.
To identify the root cause of a bug, you can use a Bug Tracking System. This will increase your bug tracking experience and discover more bugs.
So…why do we need an open-source bug tracking tool?
A bug tracker is a vital tool in any web- or software project. To make progress in our software projects, we need an easy, but effective workflow that allows us to report, track, and document any errors or failures our website or software is causing.
We took a look at these open-source bug tracking tools.
- Trac
- Redmine
- OTRS
- Mantis BT
- BugZilla
- WebIssues
- Fossil
- Lighthouse
- Eventum
- RTIR
1. Trace
Trac is not just a bug-tracking tool. Trac is an open-source project management tool, wiki and issue tracking system. It is specifically designed for software development projects.
Trac is a web-based project management system that uses a minimalistic approach. It is minimalistic in design. Yes. It doesn’t have any of the key features.
Trac allows you to create milestones, project roadmaps, and even modify the issue reporting area according to your requirements. We have extensive experience using trac for the past few years. It’s rich integration capabilities allow you to do many great things.
It can take a while to fully grasp the feature-rich interface of Trac.
Summary:
Trac is:
- Written in Python, it was first released in Oct 2006.
- This is a great solution for tech-savvy software companies looking for not only a bug tracking solution, but also a solution for project tracking.
- Available under a modified BSD License
2. Redmine
Similar to trac Redmine, is a web-based open-source bug tracking and project management tool. Other tools for project management include time tracking, calendars, and reporting.
Redmine is more than a bug tracking tool. Redmine is used worldwide by web developers to manage their projects. It is easy to use for scrum or agile workflows thanks to its many features.
It can be used as an option to JIRA, or to Microsoft Project. Because it provides similar benefits, it is my opinion.
Summary:
Redmine is:
- Written in Ruby on Rails
- A cross-platform app that offers a variety of project management and tracking tools
- Released under the GNU General Public Licence which was issued 9 years ago
3. OTRS
OTRS is an alternative for Redmine. OTRS stands Open Source Ticket Request System. It is a free, open-source ticketing platform. It can be used to track bugs and also as a ticketing system. OTRS offers great customer service solutions with its help desk capabilities.
Summary:
- OTRS is primarily used for customer support, ticketing and issue tracking.
- It was originally published in PERL in 2001.
4. Mantis BT
Mantis was first released in 2000. Mantis BT, written in PHP and available for download in 49 languages, is a popular bug tracking tool.
Mantis was named after the Mantidae insect family, also known as bugs. Mantis BT also uses a bug logo.
Mantis BT 1.2.0 was released. This version introduced an event-driven plugin system. Mantis BT is a bit old-fashioned for me, as I am one of the older kids in the area. It is also easier to track issues than other tools.
Summary:
- Mantis BT is more focused on bug tracking than other open-source tools.
- Mantis BT, originally released in 2000 and still being used by many development teams, was written in PHP.
5. Bugzilla
Bugzilla was the first web-based bug tracker tool. The Mozilla project originally used it. Bugzilla was, and probably is still, one of the most popular bug tracking tools. There was a time when Bugzilla was the only bug tracking tool available.
Bugzilla is used today by large enterprises and some very large open-source projects.
Summary:
- Bugzilla’s primary focus was always (and still remains) bug tracking.
- It was originally released in 1998 and written in Perl.
6. WebIssues
WebIssues, an open-source, multi-platform issue tracking software, is available. It can be used to store, share, and track issues with different attributes, descriptions, comments, and file attachments, as it states on its website.
The most recent version of 1.1.4 was launched in August 2015. It provides a simplified mobile version for the web client.
Summary:
- WebIssues, which is open-source, covers more bugs than the other tools.
- Its focus is clearly on defect and issue management
7. Fossil
Fossil, another easy-to-use problem tracking system, is also available. Fossil is not only able to track bugs but also provides a wiki and other features related to project management.
Fossil’s distributed version control system is the key component. Fossil appears to be a stable tool for bug tracking, but its main focus is on version control. This means that Fossil might not be the best tool for people who are not tech-savvy.
Summary:
- Fossil was written in C. It provides project management tools and issue tracking.
- It is clear that the focus of this document is on version control
8. Monday
This simple, web-based bug tracker is a user-friendly application that allows for visual and straightforward bug process management. This cloud-based software makes it easy to get information from users. You can use this Bugs Queue Template to track the issues.
Summary:
- You can customize your Monday issue tracker to personalize the workflow
- This simple filter for bug tracking allows you to quickly prioritize
9. Trello
Bug tracker software will help you to streamline problem reporting and tracking. These bug report forms are easy to use and can provide all the information you need. You can now prioritize the bug reports, check for reproducibility, then take action. By adding custom fields to your bug reports, you can track bugs easily.
Summary
- Trello issue tracking software is available for sending email
- You can easily change the date that the issue was reported
10. NR
This bug tracking tool, which is free and open-source, can be used in your web browser to log bugs and problems. NR makes problem-tracking simple and easy.
NR is the best software for issue tracking. It takes screenshots and offers annotating tools that help you track bugs. You don’t need to fill out multiple forms. This program is an excellent solution for those who need a simple way to track bugs.
This tool is completely free and does not require a credit card.
Summary:
- You can use the screenshots tool to track issues as they occur.
- It is not necessary to fill out the form
- All issues can be tracked and managed from one central location
- No credit card required.
Software for bug tracking with no obligation and a free trial
NR is free to use, and you don’t need a credit card.
This bug tracking software is free and can be used to track and prioritize bugs!
Continuing with bug tracking tools
NR is a fan of bugs. Yep. We accepted that bugs are part of our lives. We love bugs. We decided to create our bug tracking tool over three years ago. Our visual bug tracker is a great alternative to open-source bug tracking. It is free for 15 days, and you can easily set up a bug-tracking tool. Non-developers also love it.