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List of version-control software

Wikimedia list article

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 18, 2026
Entity authorityQ23832038
Source-derived summary

This is a list of notable version control software systems.

Common attributes

Openness, whether the software is open source or proprietary

Repository model, how working and shared source code is handled

Shared, all developers use the same file system

Client–server, users access a master repository server via a client; typically, a client machine holds only a working copy of a project tree; changes in one working copy are committed to the master repository before becoming available to other users

Distributed, repositories act as peers; typically each user has a local repository clone with complete version history in addition to their working files

Active

AccuRev [proprietary, client-server] – source configuration management tool with integrated issue tracking based on "Streams" that manages parallel and global development; replication server is also available; now owned by Micro Focus

Autodesk Vault [proprietary, client-server] – Version control tool specifically designed for Autodesk applications managing the complex relationships between design files such as AutoCAD and Autodesk Inventor

CADES [proprietary, client-server] – Designer productivity and version control system by International Computers Limited

ClearCase [proprietary, client-server] – MSSCCI compliant (Source Control Plug-in API) configuration management system by IBM Rational Software

Darcs [open, distributed] – originally developed by David Roundy; track inter-patch dependencies and automatically rearranges and cherry-pick them using a theory of patches

Dimensions CM [proprietary, client-server] – software change and configuration management system developed by Micro Focus, formerly Serena Software, that includes revision control

Diversion [proprietary, client-server] – A cloud-based version control system for game development and projects with large 3D assets

Fossil [open, distributed] – written by D. Richard Hipp for SQLite; distributed revision control, wiki, bug-tracking, and forum (all-in-one solution) with console and web interfaces; single portable executable and single repository file

Git [open, distributed] – designed by Linus Torvalds for Linux kernel development; decentralized; goals: fast, flexible, and robust

Global Design Platform (GDP) [proprietary, client-server] – design data management for IC design and Perforce infrastructure support

Integrity [proprietary, client-server]

Perforce P4 (formerly known by Perforce Helix and Perforce Helix Core) [proprietary, client-server] – for large scale development environments

Mercurial [open, distributed] – written in Python as an open source replacement to BitKeeper; decentralized and aims to be fast, lightweight, portable, and easy to use

OpenCVS – unreleased CVS clone under a BSD license, emphasizing security and source code correctness

Panvalet [proprietary, shared] – Around since the 1970s, source and object control for IBM mainframe computers

PVCS [proprietary, client-server] – developed by Don Kinzer at Polytron, first released in 1985; now owned by Micro Focus

Razor [proprietary, ?] – integrated suite from Visible Systems

Revision Control System (RCS) [open, shared] – stores the latest version and backward deltas for the fastest access to the trunk tip compared to SCCS and an improved user interface, at the cost of slow branch tip access and missing support for included/excluded deltas

Source Code Control System (SCCS) [open, shared] – part of UNIX; based on interleaved deltas, can construct versions as arbitrary sets of revisions; extracting an arbitrary version takes essentially the same time and is thus more useful in environments that rely heavily on branching and merging with multiple "current" and identical versions

StarTeam [proprietary, client-server] – coordinates and manages software delivery process by Micro Focus, formerly Borland; centralized control of digital assets and activities

Subversion (SVN) [open, client-server] – versioning control system inspired by CVS

Surround SCM [proprietary, client-server] – version control tool by Seapine Software

Synergy [proprietary, client-server] – MSSCCI compliant (Source Control Plug-in API) integrated change management and task-based configuration management system, proprietary of IBM

Team Concert [proprietary, client-server] – Collaboration and application lifecycle management platform by IBM Rational Software

Team Foundation Version Control [proprietary, client-server] – version control system developed by Microsoft for Team Foundation Server, now Azure DevOps Server

The Librarian [proprietary, shared] – Around since 1969, source control for IBM mainframe computers; from Applied Data Research, later acquired by Computer Associates

Unity Version Control (previously known as Plastic SCM) [proprietary, client-server] – by Codice Software, Inc and Unity Technologies

Vault [proprietary, client-server] – version control tool by SourceGear; first installation can be used for free

Obsolete

The following have been discontinued or not released in more than a decade.

Bazaar [open, distributed] – written in Python, originally by Martin Pool and sponsored by Canonical; decentralised: goals: fast and easy to use; can losslessly import Arch archives; replaced by friendly fork named Breezy

BitKeeper [open, distributed] – (discontinued) was used in Linux kernel development (2002 – April 2005) until its license was revoked for breach of contract; open-sourced in 2016

Code Co-op [open, proprietary] – (discontinued) peer-to-peer version control system (can use e-mail for synchronization)

Concurrent Versions System (CVS) [open, client-server] – originally built on RCS, licensed under the GPL

CVSNT – cross-platform port of CVS that allows case insensitive file names among other changes

OpenCVS – unreleased CVS clone under a BSD license, emphasizing security and source code correctness

Configuration Management Version Control (CMVC) [proprietary, client-server] – version control system, no longer available

GNU arch [open, distributed] – A very early system; deprecated since 2009 in favor of Bazaar

DCVS [open, distributed] – A decentralized spin on CVS, last released 2006 and since discontinued

Microsoft Delta [proprietary, client-server] – (discontinued) commercial version control system released by Microsoft in 1993 for MS-DOS and Windows; discontinued in 1994 following Microsoft's acquisition of SourceSafe from One Tree Software

Monotone [open, distributed] – not updated since 2011

Quma Version Control System – [open] VCS, final release 2010, abandoned 2013

Sun WorkShop TeamWare – Designed by Larry McVoy, creator of BitKeeper

Vesta [open, client-server] – (discontinued) build system with a versioning file system and support for distributed repositories

Visual SourceSafe (VSS) [proprietary, client-server] – version control tool by Microsoft; oriented toward small teams. Final release in 2005.

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Editorial reviewA practical starting point whose main value is the path it opens into stronger specialist and primary sources. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1985, 1969, 2002, 2005—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with List, version-control and software providing the first useful test.
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This entry incorporates text from List of version-control software” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.