Using Subversions with Windows for free

One of the new things I learned about at work was source control. Working on a Mac, I found myself using Versions, a very good but not free subversions client, the default software used by the other developers at our firm.

While this was something new for me, I started to enjoy using it. The commits, the upgrades, the possibility to keep a nice and organized version of your code was amazing! If only I knew such a thing existed before...

Anyway, after I got the hang of it, I started to search for a free Windows alternative to Versions, so I could be able to keep my projects safe. And since it took me quite some time poking around and googleing, I'm going to share the efforts of my research.

The Subversion hosting

First, there was the matter of the repository server. I have a VPS and installing a subversions server was an option, but in the end it seemed to be to difficult. Following the recommendation of a colleague, I discovered RiouxSVN.

Rioux SVN offers free subversion hosting, with only a simple, basic plan that gets you 4 repository slots, with unlimited users and 50 Mb storage per repository. If you need more, it costs you 1 credit for 10 Mb of storage and 2 credits for a repository slot (1 credits = 1 dollar). I'm still using the basic plan, without any need for more resources (so far), but when the time will come I'll definitely buy some credits since I had absolutely no problem with them.

And the greatest thing is that they're very noob friendly. I managed to find out how things work pretty much instantly and all my subversions experience was reduced to using Versions at work to make commits, checkout and update projects.

The Subversion client

The Subversions client was another story. While there were plenty clients for Windows, I found it very difficult to find one with a graphical interface since I never used the command line with subversions before. I considered using Tortoise SVN for a while, since it was somewhat close to what I needed, but the luck was on my side and I found a nice, free software that meets my demands.

While SmartSVN is not entirely free, some features being available only in the paid versions, it does everything I want it to do in the regular, free version. Actually, I don't even know what these extra features are. As long as I can checkout/import, commit and use the integrated file compare, I'm more than happy with it!

And yeah, it is true that I should find some time to learn how to use subversions without a fancy GUI, or even maybe switch to Git, the combination of RiouxSVN and FreeSVN is more than enough for me!

If you have any questions, shoot ahead!