Redmine

Redmine is an open source, cross-platform and cross-database project management platform, written using the Ruby on Rails framework. After doing some testing in August 2009, I decided to switch to this platform on CodeTRAX.org. Redmine is so feature rich and well-designed that it is difficult to go unnoticed. Some of the features include:

  • Multiple project support within one Redmine instance
  • Multiple subproject support
  • Flexible role based access control with user-defined roles
  • Flexible issue tracking system with user-defined statuses and issue types
  • Automatic gantt chart and calendar based on issues start and due dates
  • News, documents & files management
  • Feeds & email notifications
  • Per project wiki
  • Per project forums
  • Time tracking
  • Custom fields for issues, time-entries, projects and users
  • SCM integration (SVN, CVS, Git, Mercurial, Bazaar and Darcs)
  • Repository browser and diff viewer
  • Plugin system
  • Issue creation via email
  • Multiple LDAP authentication support
  • User self-registration support
  • Multilanguage support
  • Multiple databases support (MySQL, PostgreSQL and SQLite)

This platform is here to win.

During my tests, the only shortcoming was the lack of subversion repository path-based access control, but this might change in the near future. Another thing, about which I was a bit skeptical at first, was the fact that this project is written in Ruby, a programming language I do not know. But, finally, I think that this will not be a problem since I intend to stick to the default functionality. If, for any reason, I have to write a plugin to extend its functionality, that will be an excellent opportunity to know Ruby.

I highly suggest that you try out the demo Redmine installation.

Time permitting, I intend to write an extensive guide describing the installation of Redmine with Subversion repository support.

Stay tuned…

Redmine by George Notaras is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Copyright © 2009 - Some Rights Reserved

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About George Notaras

George Notaras is the editor of the G-Loaded Journal, a technical blog about Free and Open-Source Software. George, among other things, is an enthusiast self-taught GNU/Linux system administrator. He has created this web site to share the IT knowledge and experience he has gained over the years with other people. George primarily uses CentOS and Fedora. He has also developed some open-source software projects in his spare time.

2 responses on “Redmine

  1. Ilias Romanos Permalink →

    I’ve had problems with trac, similar to the ones you mention on your previous post. I didn’t knew Redmine and it looks close enough to what I was looking for. Thanks!

  2. George Notaras Post authorPermalink →

    @Ilias: Trac lacks several features and that’s why it has to be integrated with other software, which I guess is the most important of the shortcomings. For instance, there is no user-management facility, no facility that would aid the discussion about the project and of course no support for multiple projects using a single database.

    On the other hand, Redmine has all this functionality by default. I am sure you will love it.

    Thanks for stopping by.