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Use the Unity Plugin

The FlexVault Unity plugin lets you manage your project assets directly inside the Unity Editor. You can view changed assets, save local progress, share updates with your team, and download teammates' changes without leaving Unity.

Before you begin

Ask your team lead or technical team to confirm:

  • You have Unity 2021.3 LTS, 2022.3 LTS, or Unity 6+ installed.
  • The FlexVault app or CLI tool is installed on your computer (see Install FlexVault).
  • Your project is placed inside a FlexVault workspace.

Enable the plugin in your project

Choose whichever method fits your setup:

Method 1: Automatic team setup

If your team already added FlexVault to your project configuration, you do not need to install anything manually.

When you open the project in Unity, the editor downloads and enables the plugin automatically. You can go straight to Connect and sign in below.

Method 2: Add package from Git URL

If you are adding the plugin to a project yourself, using the repository URL is the simplest method:

  1. Open your project in the Unity Editor.
  2. In the top menu, click Window > Package Manager.
  3. Click the + button in the top-left corner of the window and select Add package from git URL....
  4. Paste the repository URL: 
    https://github.com/FlexVaultSCM/fxv-unity-plugin.git
    To pin your project to a specific release version, add the version tag at the end (for example, https://github.com/FlexVaultSCM/fxv-unity-plugin.git#v0.3.0).
  5. Click Add.

Unity downloads the plugin, adds required dependencies, and displays FlexVault in your menus. When you share your workspace changes, other team members receive this package setup automatically.

Method 3: Add package from a downloaded release file

If you downloaded a .tgz release package file from the FlexVault releases page:

  1. Open your project in the Unity Editor.
  2. In the top menu, click Window > Package Manager.
  3. Click the + button in the top-left corner and select Add package from tarball....
  4. Select the downloaded com.flexvault.vcs.tgz file on your computer.

Unity unpacks the plugin into your project right away.

Connect and sign in

After installing the plugin, confirm that Unity is connected to FlexVault:

  1. In the top menu, go to Edit > Project Settings.
  2. In the list on the left, click Version Control.
  3. In the Mode dropdown at the top, select FlexVault.
  4. Click Test CLI Connection. A message confirms that Unity can talk to FlexVault. If the CLI executable is not found, verify that FlexVault is installed on your machine.
  5. Under User Identity & Authentication, confirm your username is shown. If not, enter your username and click Log In.

Open the FlexVault window

Go to Window > Version Control > FlexVault.

Dock this tab next to your Project or Inspector tab so it stays handy while you work.

The window gives you three simple views:

  • Changes: Shows assets you have modified, added, or deleted. This is where you save progress and share work with your team.
  • Sync: Shows whether your project is up to date, and lets you pull your teammates' latest work with one click.
  • History: Shows recent updates published by you and your teammates.

How to work with your assets

Spotting changes in the Project window

As you edit scenes, tweak materials, or import textures, small color badges appear on asset icons in your Project window:

  • [+] Green: A new asset you added to the project.
  • [~] Blue: An existing asset you modified.
  • [-] Red: An asset you deleted.
  • [!] Orange: A conflict where both you and a teammate edited the same asset.

You do not need to manage Unity's companion .meta files yourself. The plugin automatically pairs every asset with its .meta file whenever you save, revert, or share changes.

Saving your local work (Snapshots)

A snapshot is like a personal save point or checkpoint. It saves your current progress locally on your computer. Nobody else on your team sees your snapshots until you choose to publish them.

  1. Open the Changes tab in the FlexVault window.
  2. Type a short note in the description box (for example, Adjusted lighting on level 2).
  3. Click Create Local Snapshot.

Create snapshots often during the day so you can safely experiment without fear of losing work.

Sharing work with your team (Publish)

When your work is ready for the team to use:

  1. Open the Changes tab in the FlexVault window.
  2. Type a clear description of what you changed (for example, Added hero character idle animations).
  3. Click Publish to Remote.

The plugin creates a final snapshot and publishes your updates to the team repository.

Getting updates from teammates (Sync)

To download new work published by your team:

  1. Open the Sync tab in the FlexVault window.
  2. If teammates published new changes, the tab shows how many updates are waiting.
  3. Click Sync Workspace.

Unity downloads the updates and reloads the project assets automatically.

Undoing changes (Revert)

If you made changes you do not want to keep and want to reset an asset back to the team version:

  1. Right-click the asset in the Project window (or select it in the Changes tab).
  2. Choose Assets > FlexVault > Revert Selected.
  3. Confirm the prompt.

The asset and its companion .meta file immediately return to their last published state.

Handling conflicts

If you and a teammate edited the same asset at the same time:

  1. A conflict banner appears in the Changes tab, and the asset displays an orange [!] badge.
  2. Next to the file, choose:
    • Mine: Keeps your local version and discards the incoming team version.
    • Theirs: Discards your local edits and takes the teammate's published version.

Updating the plugin

When a new version of the plugin is released:

  • If installed via Git URL: Open Window > Package Manager, change the filter dropdown in the top-left to In Project, select FlexVault VCS, and click Update in the bottom-right corner.
  • If your team manages the project repository: Simply sync your workspace. Unity automatically loads whatever plugin version is pinned in the project.