Introduction
This is Clustta - open-source version control, collaboration and asset management built for creative work.
Clustta is for the people who make things: animators, designers, illustrators, video editors, 3D artists, game developers and the studios they work in. It gives teams a single place to organize their projects, version their files, hand work off to collaborators, and keep production moving.
What is Clustta?
Think of Clustta as GitHub for creative teams - but with an interface designed for artists and a storage engine built for large binary files.
At its core, Clustta does four things really well:
- Versions your files - Save as many checkpoints as you want without duplicating files. Roll back instantly when something breaks.
- Organizes your project - Collections, assets, tags, types, dependencies, workflows. Structure that mirrors how creative production actually works.
- Coordinates your team - Assign work, track status, share approved files, resolve conflicts when two people touch the same thing.
- Keeps you in control - Local-first by default. Sync when you choose. Self-host the server. Audit the source. No vendor lock-in.
Why it exists
Existing tools force a bad trade-off:
| Tool | Problem |
|---|---|
| Git / GitHub | Inefficient on large binary files. No partial checkout. UX assumes engineers. |
| Perforce / SVN | Powerful, but heavyweight, expensive and not artist-friendly. |
| Google Drive / Dropbox / OneDrive | Auto-sync corrupts open project files. No real version control. No production tracking. |
| WeTransfer / email | Fragmented "final_final_v3.psd" chaos. No history, no recovery. |
| Finder / Explorer | Just folders. No versioning, no collaboration, no metadata. |
Clustta fills this gap by combining the discipline of real version control with the ergonomics of consumer file tools, on a foundation built specifically for the way creative teams actually work.
How it works (in 30 seconds)
- You install the desktop app and create a project. Clustta gives you a regular folder on disk to work out of - your DCC tools never need to know Clustta exists.
- As you create, edit and save files, Clustta detects changes and lets you create checkpoints - lightweight snapshots that record what changed, by whom, and when.
- Files are split into chunks (content-defined chunking + Zstandard compression), so only the changed parts of a file are stored or transferred. Even multi-gigabyte assets version efficiently.
- When you're ready, you sync to a studio server. Collaborators pull only the assets assigned to them. Conflicts are surfaced explicitly, never auto-merged silently.
- Studios run their own server, use a managed ClusttaCloud™ instance, or work in Personal mode - solo or with optional Cloud sync between your own machines.
Current state
Clustta is in active development and used in production at Eaxum, the animation studio behind it.
What works today:
- Cross-platform desktop client (Windows, macOS, Linux) via the Microsoft Store, Mac App Store and direct download
- Personal and Studio modes (with optional ClusttaCloud™ sync for personal projects)
- Checkpointing, chunked storage, selective sync, conflict resolution
- Roles & permissions, dependencies, workflows, asset templates
- Self-hosted studio server (Docker) and managed ClusttaCloud™
- Kitsu integration, DCC bridge, AI assistant
- Shareable download links (ClusttaCloud™ only)
What's coming:
- Customizable status names and colors
- Expanded DCC plugins (Blender, Maya, Unreal first-class)
- Public REST API & webhook system
- Audit log UI
Platform support
| Platform | Status |
|---|---|
| Windows 10/11 | ✅ Stable |
| macOS (Intel & Apple Silicon) | ✅ Stable |
| Linux (Ubuntu/Debian-based, also on Flathub) | ✅ Stable |
| Studio Server | ✅ Docker (any Linux host) |