Why Branchive
The collaboration layer Unreal Engine teams have been missing.
Branchive is our fork of Epic's Lore — a VCS core we're genuine fans of — built to add the team layer Lore doesn't have yet. Branchive pairs a free Windows desktop client with Branchive Cloud: pull requests with required review, protected branches enforced by Branchive Cloud, read-only grants it actually denies a push against, and QUIC-fast clones of gigabyte-sized repos. Here's how it adds up.
Windows only today — macOS and Linux are in development.
Back to BranchiveThe short version
Epic's Lore core, plus the team layer we built on top.
Branchive is our fork of Lore — a VCS core we're genuine fans of — built for Unreal Engine teams who need review, protection, and permissions on top of it. The Lore core works anywhere: a self-hosted, stock loreserver gives you the Lore core, not this enforcement layer, which lives in Branchive Cloud. In a real test, that pairing cloned a 6.05 GiB Unreal project — 3,637 files — in 78 seconds (measured, not a benchmark), no separate LFS bolt-on required.
Full feature comparison
This is the comparison.
Every row below is something we could verify — this table is the argument, not a summary of one made elsewhere on the page. Competitor wins are shown honestly: green leads the row, red loses it, gold marks a caveat in between. Where we couldn't verify a competitor's number, like Unity Version Control's pricing, we say so instead of guessing.
| Feature | Branchive | loregui | GitHub | Perforce Helix Core | Diversion | Unity Version Control |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Native large-binary handling | Yes — native QUIC lore:// | Yes — binds Lore's native API in-process | No — bolt-on Git LFS | Yes — native | Yes — native | Yes — native |
| File locking | Yes — enforced on Branchive Cloud; self-hosted Lore doesn't block the write | Exclusive claim only — no server, so it can't block the write | Git LFS locking — best-effort, not hard-enforced | Exclusive, write-blocking | Exclusive — "Hard Locks" | Exclusive — "Smart Locks" |
| Code review / merge-request workflow | Yes — native pull requests | No — local GUI, no server | Yes — native pull requests | Yes — needs the Helix Swarm add-on | Yes — Reviews | Yes — Code Reviews |
| Required review enforced before merge | Yes | No — nothing to enforce it | Yes | Yes — Swarm enforce | ⚠️ Not enforced — on Diversion's roadmap, per their docs | Yes |
| Protected branches (server-enforced) | Yes — core Lore blocks natively; our fork adds level-enforcement and admin-gated unprotect | No — no hosted server | Yes | Yes — protections table | Yes | Yes |
| Permission levels (read/write/admin) enforced | Yes | No — no access-control layer | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Web UI (browse / diff / review) | Yes | No web UI — full native desktop GUI instead | Yes | Needs the Helix Swarm add-on | Yes | Yes |
| Self-host option | Core is self-hostable; the enforcement layer is Branchive Cloud-only | Yes — 100% local, any backend (local/S3/MinIO/Garage) | Yes — Enterprise Server | Yes | Enterprise tier only | Yes |
| Desktop platforms | Windows only today — macOS/Linux in development | Windows, macOS (Apple Silicon), Linux | Windows, macOS (GitHub Desktop) | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows, macOS (Linux via CLI) | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| CI / automation | Via webhooks → your CI | No — local GUI only | Yes — Actions | Yes — via Jenkins | Yes — CI integrations | Unity DevOps |
| Pricing / free tier | Free during early access | Free — open source (MIT) | Free tier + paid; Git LFS metered ~$0.07/GB storage + ~$0.0875/GB egress | Free ≤5 users; Cloud $39/user/mo | Free ≤5 users (Indie); Pro $25/user/mo, Studio $35/user/mo | — see Unity's site |
| Target audience | Unreal Engine / game teams, Windows-first | Lore users who want a free local GUI, any platform | General development | AAA game / VFX, enterprise | Unreal Engine / game teams, cloud-native | Game development, real-time 3D |
The GitHub column reflects Git + Git LFS — the same metered-storage and best-effort-locking model applies to self-hosted Git + LFS on GitLab, Gitea, or Bitbucket. The loregui column is Biloxi Studios' free, open-source local GUI for Lore — genuinely free and cross-platform today, with no hosted server, review pipeline, or access-control layer. Unity Version Control's pricing isn't published anywhere we could verify, so we don't quote a number here — check Unity's site directly.
Honest confidence
Where the others beat us today.
Locking — Perforce, Diversion, and Unity also lock the file read-only on disk; we don't
Perforce Helix Core, Diversion, and Unity Version Control all offer exclusive, write-blocking file locks — once locked, the server refuses a competing submit. Branchive Cloud now does the same for direct commits and pushes: the server rejects anyone else's push, force-push, or rename over a locked file. What we don't do (and they do): make the file read-only on your local disk the moment someone else locks it. Our lock is a server-side push gate, not a client-side edit gate — you can still edit locally, you just can't push over someone else's lock. Approved PR merges aren't lock-gated, and repo owners/admins can force-release a lock.
GitHub's ecosystem — a hosted CI runner, cross-platform reach, and scale we don't try to match
GitHub Actions runs your builds on GitHub's own machines — a hosted CI runner we don't operate. Branchive's path today: we emit signed webhook events on repository activity — pushes, reviews, and issues — so you can trigger your own CI (GitHub Actions, Jenkins, or a self-hosted runner). Bring your own CI, not a runner we host — and we'll build a hosted pipeline when demand is high enough to justify it; until then the webhook keeps you unblocked. GitHub Desktop and Git also run natively on macOS and Linux, not just Windows, and GitHub's open-source network effects aren't something any single competitor, us included, replicates.
Releases and code search
Branchive now ships per-repo issue tracking with owner-defined labels, on both web and desktop. What we still don't have — and GitHub, Perforce, Diversion, and Unity Version Control do — is mature release management and code search; a repo wiki is the closest we offer there, and it's not a substitute.
Head-to-head comparisons
Pick the tool you're comparing us to.
vs. GitHub
Native big binaries vs. an LFS bolt-on.
vs. Perforce
Reviewed PRs vs. none, built in.
vs. Helix Core
PRs without a separate Swarm install.
vs. Diversion
Enforced review vs. roadmap-only.
vs. Unity Version Control
Reviewed PRs, Unreal-first.
vs. Git LFS
Native storage vs. a bolt-on layer.
For Unreal Engine teams
The full picture for Unreal teams.
For any game-dev team
The full picture, whichever engine you use.
Get started
Clone a repo in about a minute.
Windows only today — macOS and Linux are in development.
Back to Branchive