Lore — Next-Generation Open-Source Version Control System by Epic Games

Introduction

Lore is an open-source version control system developed by Epic Games, written in Rust. It is designed from the ground up to handle the challenges of large-scale game development: massive binary assets, huge repositories, and workflows that traditional VCS tools struggle with.

What Lore Does

• Tracks changes across codebases containing large binary assets efficiently
• Provides fast clone and checkout operations even for multi-gigabyte repositories
• Supports branching and merging workflows familiar to Git users
• Handles file locking for binary assets that cannot be merged
• Scales to repository sizes common in game and media production

Architecture Overview

Lore is built in Rust for performance and memory safety. It uses a content-addressable storage backend optimized for large files, avoiding the performance cliffs that Git encounters with binary-heavy repositories. The data model supports both traditional diff-based tracking for text files and chunk-based deduplication for binaries.

Self-Hosting & Configuration

• Install via Cargo or download prebuilt binaries for Windows, macOS, and Linux
• Configure remote storage backends (local filesystem, S3-compatible, or custom)
• Set up file locking rules per extension or path pattern
• Integrates with existing CI/CD pipelines through standard CLI conventions
• Authentication supports SSH keys and token-based methods

Key Features

• Purpose-built for repositories with large binary assets common in game development
• Fast operations on multi-gigabyte repos where Git would struggle
• File locking prevents conflicts on non-mergeable assets like textures and models
• Rust implementation provides reliable performance without garbage collection pauses
• Open-source from Epic Games with production backing from Unreal Engine workflows

Comparison with Similar Tools

• Git — dominant VCS but degrades with large binaries even with Git LFS
• Git LFS — bolt-on large file support for Git with added complexity
• Perforce — industry-standard for games but proprietary and expensive
• Plastic SCM (Unity) — game-oriented VCS acquired by Unity, now closed source
• Dolt — SQL database with Git semantics, different use case entirely

FAQ

Q: Is Lore compatible with Git? A: Lore is a separate VCS with its own data model. Migration tools are planned but it does not use Git's format.

Q: Can I use Lore for non-game projects? A: Yes. Any project with large binary assets (media production, ML model weights, design files) can benefit from Lore.

Q: How does file locking work? A: Users can lock files on the server to prevent concurrent edits. Locks are advisory by default but can be enforced per repository policy.

Q: What is the current project status? A: Lore is in active development. Epic Games uses it internally and the public release is evolving rapidly.

Sources

• https://github.com/EpicGames/lore