Unity Version Control for Unreal Engine

What it is

Unity Version Control, formerly Plastic SCM, stores projects in repositories on a Unity Cloud or on-premises server. A workspace can check in straight to the server, or work against a local replica and push and pull like Git.

Unreal already knows how to talk to it. Pick Plastic SCM in the editor's source control menu and artists get checkout, lock state, changelists, and shelves in the Content Browser, the same as with Perforce.

The catch is platform support. The provider bundled with UE 5.6 through 5.8 is version 1.11.0 and loads only on Windows and Linux. The GitHub release is newer, and Mac users need the desktop client or Gluon.

With Unreal Engine

Unreal Engine ships a Plastic SCM source control provider, enabled by default and not marked beta. It handles checkout, locks, branches, changelists, and shelves inside the editor. It only loads on Windows and Linux, so macOS artists work through the desktop client.

Where it fits

How it works

Repositories and workspaces

A repository holds the project history on the server. A workspace is a local copy. In the centralized setup the workspace checks in straight to the server. In the distributed setup you keep a local replica and push and pull changesets, and a partial replica downloads file data only when needed.¹⁷

Smart Locks

A locked file can only be changed and checked in by the lock holder. Checking it in on a task branch moves the lock to Retained. Others can check it out, but the lock stays until the file merges into the destination branch, /main by default. Checking in on the destination branch releases it.³

Lock rules

Lock rules decide which files need an exclusive checkout. On Unity Cloud they live in the Unity Dashboard under DevOps settings, with an organization rule and per-repository overrides. On-premises servers use lock.conf. For Unreal, a rule covering /Content, or *.uasset and *.umap, is the starting point.²⁴⁵

Gluon partial workspaces

Gluon is the client built for artists. You choose which files to load, lock what you edit, and check in without updating the rest of the workspace. A Gluon workspace works on one branch and does not branch or merge.⁶

The Unreal provider

The engine ships the provider as Plastic SCM, version 1.11.0 in UE 5.6 through 5.8. It covers checkout, check-in, revert, sync, branches, merges, changelists, shelves, lock release, and Blueprint diffs. Newer builds come from GitHub or Fab and replace the bundled copy.²¹⁰¹¹

In production

1. 01

   Set lock rules before the first check-in

   Add a lock rule for /Content, or for *.uasset and *.umap, and set the destination branch the team merges into. Test with two accounts: the second checkout of the same .uasset needs to fail.²⁴⁵

2. 02

   Connect the editor

   Install the desktop client and its cm command-line tool, sign in once through the desktop client or Gluon, then pick Plastic SCM in Unreal's source control settings. Commit Provider=Plastic SCM in Config/DefaultSourceControlSettings.ini so every workstation picks the same provider.²⁸

3. 03

   Give artists Gluon workspaces

   Artists who don't branch can load only the folders they need and check in without updating first. Programmers and anyone merging keep full workspaces.²⁶

4. 04

   Close the editor for updates and merges

   Updating, switching branches, and merging rewrite packages the editor may have loaded. Close Unreal Editor first, then reopen it on the new state.¹⁰

Best practices

Install the current plugin

Check the GitHub releases against the plugin version your engine ships. UE 5.6 through 5.8 bundle 1.11.0, and the latest upstream release is 1.12.2. Replace the engine copy on every workstation at once so the team runs one version.¹¹

Keep generated folders out

Use the ignore.conf the plugin generates. It excludes Binaries, DerivedDataCache, Intermediate, Saved, IDE folders, and solution files. Review it before the first check-in.²

Watch storage, not seats

Since March 1, 2026, Unity Cloud charges no per-seat fee. Each organization gets 25 GB of storage and 100 GB of egress a month, then pays $0.14 per GB-month of storage and $0.10 per GB of egress. Build Automation draws on the same allowance.¹²¹³

Gotchas

No macOS support in the editor

The provider's plugin descriptor allows only Win64 and Linux. Mac users check out and check in through the desktop client or Gluon, and the editor shows no lock state for them.⁸¹⁰

Locks stay held until the merge

A file checked in on a task branch keeps a Retained lock until it merges into the destination branch. An abandoned branch can keep an asset locked until an admin releases it.³

Locks don't cross replicas

Smart Locks live on one server. Teams using the distributed setup with separate replicas don't get lock protection between them.³⁷

Some merge conflicts need the desktop client

The plugin README lists cherry-pick and range-merge conflicts as unsupported in the editor and documents a crash with Accept Target during merge conflicts. Resolve those in the desktop client.¹⁰

Cloud hosting runs through a Unity organization

Repository access, lock rules, and billing are managed in the Unity Dashboard. Every contributor needs a Unity ID in that organization, including people who never open Unity.⁴⁹

Adoption checklist

• Confirm every editor workstation runs Windows or Linux, or plan a desktop-client workflow for Mac users.
• Add lock rules for Unreal packages and set the destination branch before importing content.
• Commit ignore.conf and DefaultSourceControlSettings.ini with the project.
• Decide which people use Gluon and which need full workspaces.
• Pick one plugin version and install it on every workstation.
• Estimate storage and egress from full binary history, not the current Content folder.

Related guides

• Perforce P4Centralized version control built around workspaces, changelists, and exclusive checkout.
• Git with Git LFSGit version control with separate storage for large files and optional file locking.
• LoreEpic Games' open-source version control for large binary repositories, currently in pre-stable release.
• DiversionHosted version control with an Unreal Editor plugin and file locks.

Sources

Official sources checked September 24, 2026.

1. 1Unity Version Control documentationdocs.unity.com
2. 2Unreal Engine plugin guidedocs.unity.com
3. 3Smart Locksdocs.unity.com
4. 4Cloud organization settings and lock rulesdocs.unity.com
5. 5On-premises exclusive checkoutdocs.unity.com
6. 6Gluondocs.unity.com
7. 7Partial replicasdocs.unity.com
8. 8Desktop clientdocs.unity.com
9. 9Unity organizationsdocs.unity.com
10. 10UEPlasticPlugin repositorygithub.com
11. 11UEPlasticPlugin releasesgithub.com
12. 12Unity DevOps pricing updateunity.com
13. 13Unity DevOps chargessupport.unity.com