Getting Started with USourceControl

Before you start, gather:

• An Unreal Engine project folder you want to version. A brand-new empty project is fine too.
• A computer running Windows. macOS and Linux builds are available for Enterprise customers.
• An email address for your account.

That's it. No credit card, no infrastructure to provision, no dependencies to install beyond the desktop app itself.

Sign up to get started. You'll create your account with your email and name your workspace. It only takes a minute.

An organization is the container for your projects, teammates, and billing. For a solo developer, it's usually just your name or studio name. For a team, pick whatever matches your studio's real name.

The Free plan is free forever for solo devs: one project, unlimited storage and bandwidth, unlimited commits, no card. Move up to Indie for unlimited projects at $25/user/mo whenever your team outgrows one.

From the dashboard, click New project. Give it a name. It doesn't have to match your local folder name, so pick something meaningful. "Crystal Wreckage" or "Deep Forge Prototype" is better than "MyProject_v2_final".

Once the project exists, the dashboard shows a project key, a string like usc_1a2b3c4d5e6f.... Copy it. You'll paste it into the desktop app next. Treat it like an API key. Anyone with it can push and pull your project.

Download the app from usourcecontrol.com/download. The installer is signed, and Enterprise customers can request the full source to audit it before running.

Run the installer and launch the app. There is no email sign-in here: the desktop app authenticates with your project key, the one you copied in Step 2. You can always find it again in the web dashboard under the project's settings. You'll paste it in the next step.

In the desktop app, click Link project. Paste your project key from Step 2. Then browse to your project's root folder. On Unreal that is the folder that contains your .uproject file.

The app detects your Unreal project automatically and pre-configures sensible default exclusions: Unreal's Saved/, Intermediate/, DerivedDataCache/, Binaries/, Build/. You can customize the list later, but the defaults are what you want on day one.

The app now shows a list of files staged for commit: everything in your project folder that isn't excluded. Review quickly:

• You should see your source files: Unreal's Content/, Config/, Source/ and .uproject. No Saved/, no Intermediate/.
• Your unmergeable assets, Unreal Blueprints, levels (.umap) and materials, should be present.
• No Binaries/, no DerivedDataCache/. Those are regenerated locally and stay excluded.

Write a short commit message. "Initial project state" is fine for the first one. Then click Commit.

The first commit uploads every file, so it takes a while for large projects. A 50 GB project on 100 Mbps takes ~70 minutes. If it gets interrupted, nothing partial lands and nothing is lost: commits are atomic, so you just run it again, and the files that already uploaded are recognised by their SHA-256 and skipped. Subsequent commits only send changed files and are usually done in seconds.

If you're on a solo project, skip this step. If you have teammates, head to the dashboard's Members section.

Invite by email. Choose a role:

• Owner. Billing and organization-level control. Usually just you.
• Admin. Can invite members, create and manage projects, and manage project keys. No billing access.
• Member.Commits and syncs within projects they're added to.

Note that joining the org doesn't automatically grant access to every project. Assign project membership explicitly so freelancers and contractors only see what they need.

On their first sync, teammates pick a fresh folder on disk and let the app download the project. First sync takes a while; after that, everyone's in sync.

Three things that turn source control from a chore into a safety net:

Commit often.A commit is a checkpoint. End-of-session commits, "I'm about to try something wild" commits, "the boss is happy" commits. They're all good. History is cheap; lost work is expensive.

Lock binary files before you edit them. Click the file in the app, click Lock, optionally type a reason. Edit in your DCC tool. Commit, the lock releases. This one habit prevents more lost work than any other practice.

Write useful commit messages."Added boss phase 2 with death animation" beats "stuff" every time, especially when you're spelunking history six months later.

Congratulations. Your game project is now under real source control. Some suggested reading:

• The full setup deep-dive: Unreal Engine source control setup.
• Workflow advice: Game asset versioning best practices.
• Coming from another system? Migrate from Perforce.

Questions, problems, or feedback? We're on Discord, or reach us through the contact page. Happy shipping.