Every project you build, every version of it. Private, on your own server.
Grixel keeps everything you build in one place you control, across every project: the code and the big files beside it, whether that's game art, audio, CAD models, or training data. It stores every version of every file, and one set of access rules decides who and what can see each part, down to the folder, for people and AI assistants alike.
Run it entirely privately on your own hardware, where nothing leaves your server unless you say so. Or, if you'd rather not look after a server, we'll host it for you, and your depot stays yours: a full backup moves it to your own hardware at any time.
- src/
- main.go
- art/
- hero_model.fbx 2.1 GB
- keyart_main.psd 64 MB
- cad/
- assembly.step 840 MB
- data/
- train_set.parquet 12 GB
Sound familiar?
The problems this solves
A folder full of copies
final_v2, final_v3_FINAL, final_v3_FINAL_actually.
You're already doing version control by hand. Grixel does it properly: one name per file,
every version kept, any of them one command away.
Your AI assistant changed something
You asked it to fix one thing. What else did it touch? Grixel records every change with who or what made it, so you can read exactly what happened and undo any of it.
Files too big for code tools
Most version control was built for text. A 2 GB model or a 12 GB dataset breaks it, so those files end up loose in a shared drive with no history. Grixel treats them the same as code.
Work that can't leave the building
Client work under NDA, an unannounced product, regulated designs. Grixel is a single server you run yourself. Your files sit on your disk, under your backups, under your rules.
How it works
Three steps, one server
Run the server
One small program on a machine you own: an office server, a NAS, a box under the desk. It holds the whole project and every version of it. If you'd rather not run one, we can host it for you.
Check out what you need
Each person syncs only the folders they work on. The 12 GB art directory stays on the server until someone actually wants it on their machine.
Submit your changes
Each submit is one save-point across every file in it, code and assets together. Grixel stores only what changed, so even huge files version cheaply.
AI, governed
Your assistant sees what you allow. Nothing else exists.
Give an AI assistant your whole disk and you're trusting it with everything on it. Grixel takes the opposite approach: assistants read your project through a controlled window, filtered by the same access rules as the person they work for.
A folder an assistant may not read isn't blocked or greyed out. It's absent. Not in listings, not in search, and asking for it by name looks exactly like asking for something that never existed. An assistant can't leak what it can't see.
An assistant never works on your key, either. You mint it one of its own in a single command: named for you and the tool, allowed to write only in the corner of the project you point it at, and set to expire by itself. It can read what you can read, but it can't write outside that lane, can't grant itself more, and can't pass its access to another tool. You can list the keys you've handed out and revoke any of them yourself, no administrator in the loop.
Assistants also get a real safety net: before risky work they take a checkpoint — a private save-point that covers everything, including changes made by scripts they ran — and restoring one is always reversible. Run several assistants at once and each works in its own disposable workspace, unable to release a lock you hold or delete a save-point you made.
Writes are recorded, too: every change notes which tool made it, which model, and what it was shown at the time. How the AI integration works →
- games/
- seasonal/
- design/
- readme.md
- secret-game/
- pitch.md
- games/
- seasonal/
- design/
- readme.md
secret-game/. Asking for it returns the
same "not found" as a folder that never existed.What you get
Version control, governance, and AI control in one place
Keeps every version
Nothing is ever overwritten. Compare any two points in time, restore anything, and see who changed what and when.
Built for huge files
When a big file changes, Grixel stores and transfers only the parts that changed. A small edit to a 64 MB file costs a few megabytes, not another full copy.
Sync just what you need
Pick the folders that matter to you and leave the rest on the server. Laptops stay light even when the project is enormous.
Locks for unmergeable files
Two people can't silently collide on a Photoshop file or a CAD assembly. Whoever is editing holds the lock; everyone else can see who has it.
An audit trail you can hand over
Every change records who made it, when, and what it contained. Reviews and approvals are part of the same record, so "who signed this off, and on which revision?" has an answer.
Approvals that stick
A sign-off applies to the exact content that was reviewed. Change the file afterwards and the approval no longer counts. The server enforces this for everyone, including admins.
Save-points you can trust
Checkpoint your changes before risky work and roll back freely — restoring always keeps a way back, and nothing you saved on purpose is ever deleted for you.
Every agent on its own key
Give an assistant a short-lived, revocable key of its own instead of your login. It reads what you can, writes only in the lane you set, and expires by itself — list and kill your agents' keys yourself.
Works on a plane
See your changes, diff them, revert, and checkpoint with no connection at all. Claim your locks before you leave and binary work is safe offline too.
Private folders and secrets
Each person gets folders others can't see, and per-user secrets are stored encrypted. Useful for drafts, staging areas, and keys that should never be shared.
Look after it while people work
Backups run against the live server, and each one copies only what changed since the last, so a month of restore points costs little more than one. Integrity checks work the same way: give them half an hour a night and they cover the whole server over several nights, picking up where they stopped. Point one at your backup and it repairs damaged files itself, and says so. Reclaiming the space that deleted branches leave behind runs live too, so none of the routine upkeep needs the server taken down.
Genuinely yours
One server program, files on a filesystem you control, backups with tools you already have. Prefer hosted? We'll run it for you, and you can move to your own hardware whenever you like.
Who it's for
Built for work with big files and high stakes
Game studios
Code, art, audio, and levels in one versioned place. Locks stop artists colliding on binary files, and review gates protect the live build.
AI & ML teams
Datasets, checkpoints, and code versioned together, with pinned revisions so an experiment can be reproduced exactly, months later.
CAD & engineering
Gigabyte assemblies with exclusive locks, since design files can't be merged, and a complete revision history with sign-off for when the auditor asks.
Coming from Perforce or Git?
Grixel is Perforce-shaped: one authoritative server, checked-out working copies, atomic submits, path-level permissions. It also imports history from git. The long-form argument and the docs go deep.
Questions
Frequently asked
Do I need version control?
If your project takes more than a day and you would be upset to lose yesterday's state, yes. Version control keeps a complete memory of your project, so you can undo anything, compare any two points in time, and see exactly what changed while you were away. Here's a plain-language guide.
Can it handle really big files?
Yes. Big files are the reason Grixel exists. Art, audio, CAD models, and datasets are stored alongside your code, and when a large file changes, only the changed parts travel over the network and take up space on the server. See large files and locking.
Can I stop an AI assistant from seeing certain files?
Yes, and it goes further than blocking. Anything an assistant is not allowed to read is simply absent from its world: not in listings, not in search, not in error messages. Asking for a hidden folder looks exactly like asking for one that never existed. See sharing and visibility.
Is my work private?
Yes. Self-hosted, Grixel runs entirely on hardware you control and nothing leaves your server. If we host it for you, per-user secrets are still encrypted on your machine before upload, so not even the people running the server can read them. Either way, a full backup is yours to take at any time.
Do I have to run the server myself?
No. Running your own server is what Grixel is built around and gives you complete privacy, but if you'd rather not look after one, we can host it for you. The product is the same either way, and an ordinary backup moves you between the two whenever you like.
Do I have to download the whole project?
No. You choose which folders to check out. A 12 GB art directory stays on the server until someone actually wants it on their machine.
Does it work with my AI coding tool?
Claude Code, Codex, opencode, and any tool that reads an AGENTS.md file. One setup script wires them to read your project through Grixel under the same access rules as you. See working with AI assistants.
Is it hard to set up?
One server program and one client program, both single files. The tutorial walks from nothing to a working, versioned project, including the AI wiring.
Your files. Your history. Your server.
Grixel is pre-release and early access is open. Tell us what you're building, and whether you'd like to run it yourself or have us host it for you.
Or email earlyaccess@grixel.dev directly. For anything else, see contact.