layout: post title: Private code repo hosting with Beanstalk and RepositoryHosting.com created: 1278708578 categories:

• Web Development tags:
• Unfuddle
• SVN
• git
• GitHub
• version control
• Repository Hosting
• WebDAV
• project management
• Trac
• Basecamp
• DVCS
• Amazon S3
• Beanstalk

For many years, I've settled on Unfuddle as my hosted tool of choice for development-focused project management and version control repo hosting. It's a great tool if you want all in one development ticketing / bug tracking (which is what I mean when I say "dev focused" PM) plus your code repository all in one place.

However, I've been moving away from using Unfuddle for this type of project management, or been called into other projects where an existing PM tool is already in place -- most notable, either Basecamp or Open Atrium, with the Drupal-based Atrium being something I'm very keen on supporting (interested in seeing more hosted tools integrated with Open Atrium? contact me).

In cases like this, I really ONLY need a (private) hosted code repository*. I saw an article recently comparing various options for private DVCS hosting (DVCS = distributed version control systems like Git or Mercurial) which nicely complimented some of the research/experimentation that I've been doing.

The review states its goals very clearly: lowest cost-per-repository, with storage used as a secondary consideration. Everyone will have their own needs to rank providers across.

For me, I'm interested in a mix between features and pricing, especially using it on a consulting basis with lots of clients, and different kinds of clients (from those that don't use version control at all, to those that have in house developers already).

RepositoryHosting.com is clearly the lowest price-per-repository: it's $6 / month for unlimited repos with a bundled 2GB of storage, plus $1 per additional GB of storage. No "cost per project" means I can generate a project per client / idea / whatever and not have to worry about it. There is bundled ticketing in the form of Trac, and it's likely OK / has evolved since I got sick of it when we used it at Bryght -- I'm not giving points in this review for PM tools in any case. The WebDAV shares is a very cool feature, especially for integrating clients, designers, and other folks into the mix that will find it hard to adopt the version control system directly.

On the features side of things, my pick goes to Beanstalk. It starts with a free plan so you can check it out right away with 1 private repo. The first paid plan is $15 per month, and I'm fine with their 10 repository limit, but I'm always annoyed at limited user counts. Regardless, it is a super clean interface that people will find very easy to use and it integrates with a ton of different tools (Twitter, Basecamp, Harvest, etc.). But the main reason it is a choice that I'm going to be using more and more is that it offers direct FTP / SFTP deployment. I think this makes it a perfect tool for design-centric shops -- they can continue to use FTP-based hosting services and workflows, while starting to adopt best practices version control.

Bottom line: Unfuddle is a great all in one solution and one that I recommend to clients over and over again if they have no PM or development management tools in place, but for just repo hosting, you should consider RepositoryHosting.com and Beanstalk.

*yes, I'm using GitHub. It's awesome, end of story.