# Swarmfile > Swarmfile is the home for your biggest work: a mounted drive for multi-terabyte projects, with branches, reviews, rollback and no clone. ## Swarmfile and Git Swarmfile is a version-control system in its own right, not a Git-LFS add-on. For an organization's real projects - huge files, mixed document/code/asset trees, many people and machines - it does things Git structurally cannot: - **No clone, no copies.** Projects mount as a drive and files stream on demand: browse 10,000 files at zero disk and read only the byte ranges you use. Git copies what you work on - a multi-terabyte project means a multi-hour clone and a full working copy on every machine. - **Large binaries are first-class.** Atomic multi-file changesets, per-mount branches, merges that refuse rather than clobber, locking and review built in. Git bolts them on with LFS: metered storage and bandwidth, plan-dependent per-file caps, whole-object downloads, and a separate endpoint and credential to run. - **Documents, code and large assets in one project.** One history, one per-folder permission tree (allow/deny/inherit, guests without seats - free and uncapped on public projects) and one CI trigger surface (commit, tag, MR, schedule). Git access is repository-wide, and its big files live in a separate LFS store with their own credentials. - **Locking and worksharing.** Hub-enforced file locks, edit leases, Pack & Go checkouts, byte-range locks and Windows "in use" semantics; Revit-class apps get cross-machine claims with no plugin. Git's only locking is the LFS path lock. - **Cloud-edge, P2P and residency.** A managed global cloud service with edge delivery, LAN-first P2P and office caches (one cloud fetch per office), Reed-Solomon 10+4 erasure coding, EU or US data residency per org or project, dedicated or customer-supplied buckets, and a self-hostable control plane on Enterprise. Mainstream git hosting has no P2P swarm, no erasure coding, and residency only as an Enterprise add-on. - **History that cannot be lost.** Swarmfile never rewrites commits: history is append-only, rollback and revert land forward as new commits, and hash-chained, hub-signed checkpoints are verifiable offline. A Git force push or rebase can erase committed work. - **Access you can revoke.** Per-folder grants with fail-closed revocation that purges cached copies and files an auditable purge receipt, bounded by an offline access lease. Git has no revocation: removing access does not reach clones or caches. - **Encryption, large objects included.** Drive content on private projects is application-layer encrypted under a hub-held key, or end-to-end where the hub structurally cannot read it, and large objects pushed through the chunked LFS agent are encrypted too. Mainstream git hosts encrypt under their own control with no end-to-end tier. - **Review and decisions of record.** RFIs and submittals - numbered, assignable, with a decision of record - alongside comments, reviews and approvals on the same files, including public intake for non-members. - **CI on the project, not a clone.** Hosted CI runs .swarmfile/ci.yml jobs on commit, tag, merge request or schedule in per-job containers, with a sparse checkout of the triggering commit - only the paths a job uses are materialized - plus artifacts, a dependency cache and member-only logs, billed per second under the org spend cap. - **Adopt it without leaving Git.** Keep your git host and point its Git-LFS at Swarmfile, clone or fast-forward push a project with git, or import an existing repository; the swarmfile CLI answers to git habits. Start with one repo or one folder, and move more of your work over when you're ready. - **Egress-free economics.** Downloads cost nothing on every plan, storage sits inside the per-seat allowance, spend caps stop overruns, and public projects are free. ## Product - [Pricing - Swarmfile](https://swarmfile.com/pricing): Simple per-seat pricing: Starter $5/seat, Pro $25/seat, both with a 7-day free trial. Unlimited egress on every plan; Enterprise self-hosting available. - [Security & trust - Swarmfile](https://swarmfile.com/security): Per-project encryption with an opt-in end-to-end tier, content-addressed integrity, ransomware quarantine, and a self-hostable control plane on Enterprise. - [Trust center - Swarmfile](https://swarmfile.com/trust): Live service status, subprocessors, data residency, retention and deletion, compliance posture, and our vulnerability disclosure policy - written to be checked. - [Version control for files too big for Git - Swarmfile](https://swarmfile.com/version-control): Branch, review and roll back multi-terabyte projects on a drive your team already knows. Atomic changesets and whole-file merges, with no depot or workspace to sync. - [Developers - Swarmfile](https://swarmfile.com/developers): For an organization, version control beyond what Git can hold - mount instead of clone, branch, lock and review - plus self-serve Git paths (point LFS at Swarmfile, git clone/push, import a repository) and a workspace per coding agent. Real guides and real commands. - [Git & Swarmfile](https://swarmfile.com/git): For an organization, version control with more flexibility than Git for huge files - no clone, streaming reads, per-folder access, built-in locking - plus self-serve Git paths (LFS endpoint, git clone, repo import) so you never have to leave Git. - [Swarmfile vs the alternatives](https://swarmfile.com/compare): How Swarmfile compares to LucidLink, Perforce Helix Core, Resilio Active Everywhere, Egnyte, Autodesk ACC, Lore and GitHub LFS: architecture, collaboration, security, pricing and track record. - [Swarmfile vs LucidLink](https://swarmfile.com/compare/lucidlink): A head-to-head comparison of Swarmfile and LucidLink: architecture, collaboration, locking, security, pricing and reach. Honest about both sides. - [Swarmfile vs Lore](https://swarmfile.com/compare/lore): Swarmfile compared to Lore (Epic Games) for binary-asset version control: where each wins on workflow, collaboration, security, openness and pricing. - [Swarmfile vs Perforce Helix Core](https://swarmfile.com/compare/perforce): Swarmfile compared to Perforce Helix Core for large binary assets: version control you mount instead of check out, on a managed cloud, versus a self-hosted, workspace-sync server. The honest side-by-side, both ways. - [Swarmfile vs Resilio Active Everywhere](https://swarmfile.com/compare/resilio): Swarmfile compared to Resilio Active Everywhere: a streamed, version-controlled drive versus a P2P sync tool - what each does better, both ways. - [Swarmfile vs Egnyte](https://swarmfile.com/compare/egnyte): Swarmfile compared to Egnyte for teams with huge files: a mounted, byte-range-streaming drive with version control versus hybrid cloud file sharing and governance - both ways. - [Swarmfile vs Autodesk ACC (Forma)](https://swarmfile.com/compare/acc): Swarmfile compared to Autodesk Construction Cloud / Forma: a mounted drive with version control versus purpose-built AEC document management, including where each is stronger. - [Swarmfile vs GitHub LFS](https://swarmfile.com/compare/github-lfs): Swarmfile compared to GitHub's Git LFS storage: bring your code and your large objects over, or start smaller by pointing lfs.url at Swarmfile for the big binaries. Where each fits, both ways. - [Swarmfile for Software & Platform Teams](https://swarmfile.com/for/software): Keep your Git and offload the builds, binaries, datasets and model weights it chokes on over Git-LFS, then branch, review, roll back and stream them like code, on a drive that just mounts. - [Swarmfile for Game Studios](https://swarmfile.com/for/games): Version your Unreal or Unity project, source art and audio with cooperative locking (no plugin, no Perforce server) and stream 400 GB projects so nobody clones the depot. The check-out workflow without the server. - [Swarmfile for Media & Entertainment](https://swarmfile.com/for/media): Open a 4 TB Resolve or Premiere project in seconds. Stream only the bytes you read, share one LAN cache across the edit floor, and keep every version. - [Swarmfile for Geospatial & Survey](https://swarmfile.com/for/geospatial): Open a 200 GB tiled survey (point clouds and orthomosaics) without downloading it, and pan without waiting on the cloud. One drive for LiDAR, drone and GIS datasets too big to move. - [Swarmfile for AEC](https://swarmfile.com/for/aec): Open a multi-gigabyte Revit or CAD model from any office in seconds, with cooperative file locking, full version history and an audit trail on every change. - [Watch the real drive - Swarmfile demos](https://swarmfile.com/demo): Unedited terminal recordings of the real Swarmfile engine: open a file this machine has never seen, stream only the bytes you read, survive a dead peer or an offline hub. No mock-ups, no signup. - [Download Swarmfile](https://swarmfile.com/downloads): Installers for macOS (signed and notarized), Windows (Authenticode-signed) and Linux, with signature-verified updates. No account required to download; sign in on first launch. - [Changelog - Swarmfile](https://swarmfile.com/changelog): Recent capability releases and improvements to Swarmfile. - [Blog - Swarmfile](https://swarmfile.com/blog): Product updates, how it's built, and what we're learning from teams running Swarmfile on their biggest projects. - [Explore public projects - Swarmfile](https://swarmfile.com/explore): Browse public projects published on Swarmfile. Browse and stream without an account; downloads need a free sign-in. - [About - Swarmfile](https://swarmfile.com/about): Swarmfile is built by Matt Johnson and Matt Dodd. Who we are, who you'll talk to, and where to check what we say. - [Contact - Swarmfile](https://swarmfile.com/contact): Sales, support, partnerships, or anything else: tell us what's going on and we'll get back to you. - [Start your Swarmfile trial](https://swarmfile.com/start): Create your organization and start a 7-day free trial (card on file, cancel anytime before day 7) or a no-card Free plan for public projects. Add your first project and mount it in minutes. ## Docs: Guides - [Getting Started](https://swarmfile.com/docs/guides/getting-started.md): Install the client, sign in, and mount your first project. - [Coming from Git](https://swarmfile.com/docs/guides/coming-from-git.md): Map your Git habits onto Swarmfile - the command cheat sheet, and the few places the model genuinely differs. - [Moving from Perforce](https://swarmfile.com/docs/guides/moving-from-perforce.md): Map depots, streams, changelists, and p4 edit onto Swarmfile - and import your head revision honestly, without a history importer. - [Migrating Existing Data](https://swarmfile.com/docs/guides/migrating-existing-data.md): Move an existing NAS, S3 bucket, or file list into Swarmfile. - [Deployment Topologies](https://swarmfile.com/docs/guides/deployment-topologies.md): Central, LAN-first, or seeded from your NAS - the same product, shown side by side. - [Working with Files](https://swarmfile.com/docs/guides/working-with-files.md): Browsing, opening and saving, locking, and who's-editing presence. - [Working Offline (Pack & Go)](https://swarmfile.com/docs/guides/offline-working.md): Download a scope for reading, reserve one for editing with Pack & Go, and land your changes cleanly when you're back online. - [Multiple Mounts](https://swarmfile.com/docs/guides/multiple-mounts.md): Open a second project or branch as its own drive, target commands at one mount, and close it cleanly. - [File Previews](https://swarmfile.com/docs/guides/file-previews.md): Thumbnails, inline preview, video posters and scrubbable proxies, and point-cloud previews in the dashboard. - [Search](https://swarmfile.com/docs/guides/search.md): Find files fast from the dashboard omnibox, the Desktop App, or the CLI. - [Notifications & Inbox](https://swarmfile.com/docs/guides/notifications.md): The notification bell, Desktop App toasts, and email preferences with per-kind toggles and quiet hours. - [Sync Exclusions](https://swarmfile.com/docs/guides/sync-exclusions.md): Keep node_modules, build output, and other local-only files off the hub with .gitignore and .swarmfileignore. - [Performance & Disk Usage](https://swarmfile.com/docs/guides/performance-and-disk-usage.md): How the local cache works, how reads get fast over LAN and seeds, bandwidth scheduling, and getting disk space back. - [Version Control](https://swarmfile.com/docs/guides/version-control.md): Commits, changelists, and restoring a file, folder, or project to a past point in time. - [Branches & Merging](https://swarmfile.com/docs/guides/branches-and-merging.md): Work a look-dev variant or design option in isolation, then merge it back. - [Trash, History & Rollback](https://swarmfile.com/docs/guides/trash-history-and-rollback.md): Recover a deleted file or roll back a change. - [Verifiable History](https://swarmfile.com/docs/guides/verifiable-history.md): Hash-chained commits and hub-signed checkpoints: what they prove, and how to check a project's history yourself. - [Git and Swarmfile](https://swarmfile.com/docs/guides/git-and-swarmfile.md): Where Swarmfile's version control - more flexible than Git for large projects - meets Git, and how to adopt it self-serve without leaving Git: the git-LFS server, git clone, repo import, and the CLI's git-style commands. - [Cloning a Project with Git](https://swarmfile.com/docs/guides/git-clone.md): Turn on git access for a project, git clone swarmfile://org/project, fetch new commits, push commits back, and what a clone does and doesn't contain. - [Git-LFS](https://swarmfile.com/docs/guides/git-lfs.md): Keep your source in the git host you use and offload the big files to Swarmfile as a git-LFS server - setup, credentials, and dedup with the mounted drive. - [Coding Agents](https://swarmfile.com/docs/guides/coding-agents.md): One mounted workspace per agent: a headless engine and project API key, a labeled mount per agent, a shared dependency cache, and the durable create queue. - [Runner (Headless CI)](https://swarmfile.com/docs/guides/runner-as-ci.md): A headless engine that watches a branch and runs a job on commit or tag - no separate clone; the branch is materialized from the project's blocks. - [Hosted CI](https://swarmfile.com/docs/guides/hosted-ci.md): Run .swarmfile/ci.yml workflows on Swarmfile's containers: enable it per project, write jobs, use secrets, pick a runner size, read logs, and understand the per-second billing. - [Automating Swarmfile](https://swarmfile.com/docs/guides/automating-swarmfile.md): The supported automation surfaces: which credential to use (project API key vs personal access token), headless engines, scriptable CLI recipes, CI check reporting, and signed webhooks. - [Sharing & Collaboration](https://swarmfile.com/docs/guides/sharing-and-collaboration.md): Comments, watch notifications, share links, and external collaborators. - [Worksharing (no plugin)](https://swarmfile.com/docs/guides/worksharing.md): Revit/SolidWorks-class worksharing enforced across machines - Swarmfile honors the native OS exclusive-open lock, with no add-in and no lock server. - [RFIs & Submittals](https://swarmfile.com/docs/guides/rfis-and-submittals.md): Numbered, auditable review workflows over your files - questions answered, documents stamped, with a decision of record. - [Public Projects & Org Profiles](https://swarmfile.com/docs/guides/public-projects-and-org-profiles.md): Publish a release for anyone to browse, and set up your organization's public page, README, followers, and releases feed. - [Publishing Releases](https://swarmfile.com/docs/guides/publishing-releases.md): Publish a tag of a public project as a release: archives, commit pinning, Explore, followers and feeds, and forking a release into your own org. - [Troubleshooting](https://swarmfile.com/docs/guides/troubleshooting.md): The drive won't mount, a file won't open, sync is stuck - where to look first, and what to attach when you ask for help. - [Uninstall & Clean Reinstall](https://swarmfile.com/docs/guides/uninstall-and-clean-reinstall.md): Remove Swarmfile from a machine without losing queued work, and start fresh when you need to. ## Docs: Admin & IT - [Organizations, Projects & Members](https://swarmfile.com/docs/admin/organizations-projects-and-members.md): Structure, invites, roles, and archiving. - [Identity](https://swarmfile.com/docs/admin/identity.md): Bring your own SSO (OIDC), SAML on Enterprise via an adapter, SCIM provisioning, on-prem LDAP sync, and an org-wide MFA/verified-email policy. - [LDAP Directory Sync](https://swarmfile.com/docs/admin/ldap-sync.md): Run the customer-hosted agent that syncs Active Directory users and groups into your org. - [Permissions](https://swarmfile.com/docs/admin/permissions.md): Folder and file ACLs, protected-mode projects, and Windows DACL projection. - [Self-Hosted Seed Nodes](https://swarmfile.com/docs/admin/self-hosted-seed-nodes.md): Run a NAS or on-prem machine as a warm tier for your office. - [Security](https://swarmfile.com/docs/admin/security.md): Encryption, erasure coding, ransomware detection, and the E2E-encryption tier. - [Security Architecture (Whitepaper)](https://swarmfile.com/docs/admin/security-architecture.md): The vendor-review deep dive: threat model, who-can-decrypt matrix, key custody, and where each guarantee's limits are. - [Trust & Compliance](https://swarmfile.com/docs/admin/trust-and-compliance.md): Compliance posture, subprocessors, data-lifecycle commitments, and where to start a security review. - [End-to-End Encryption Setup](https://swarmfile.com/docs/admin/end-to-end-encryption.md): Turning on the E2E tier, the org recovery key and Shamir shares, enrollment, and recovery. - [Dedicated Storage Isolation](https://swarmfile.com/docs/admin/dedicated-storage.md): Where an org's bytes physically live - shared, its own dedicated bucket (the default for paid orgs), or a customer-supplied one - plus the public-access switches for a BYOS bucket. - [Bring Your Own Storage](https://swarmfile.com/docs/admin/bring-your-own-storage.md): Enterprise: make an S3-compatible bucket on your own account the org's primary block storage. - [Data Residency](https://swarmfile.com/docs/admin/data-residency.md): Pin an org's metadata and block storage to a real, infrastructure-enforced jurisdiction - EU or US, free on every paid plan; FedRAMP regions are Enterprise, provisioned through sales. - [Billing & Plans](https://swarmfile.com/docs/admin/billing-and-plans.md): Plans, usage, overage, and the self-serve billing portal. - [Operations](https://swarmfile.com/docs/admin/operations.md): Audit log, retention & GC, and connectivity diagnostics. - [Webhooks](https://swarmfile.com/docs/admin/webhooks.md): Signed HTTP callbacks for org and personal events - setup, signature verification, retries, and auto-disable. - [Deploying to Your Team](https://swarmfile.com/docs/admin/deploying-to-your-team.md): Silent install, GPO/MDM push, and what a freshly-provisioned machine needs before someone signs in. - [Data Portability & Offboarding](https://swarmfile.com/docs/admin/data-portability-and-offboarding.md): Getting your data out, what happens on cancellation or downgrade, and what uninstalling actually removes. - [Branch Mirror to S3](https://swarmfile.com/docs/admin/branch-mirror.md): Continuously export a branch's real files to a bucket you control - for hand-off, backup, or feeding a pipeline. ## Docs: Reference - [Filesystem Compatibility & Conformance](https://swarmfile.com/docs/reference/filesystem-compatibility.md): What POSIX/WinFsp semantics are actually verified per platform, and what's a declared gap. - [Supported Platforms & System Requirements](https://swarmfile.com/docs/reference/platforms-and-system-requirements.md): OS versions, architectures, what each installer bundles, disk expectations, and file-size limits. - [Release Channels & Updates](https://swarmfile.com/docs/reference/release-channels-and-updates.md): Where installs come from, how updates are delivered and verified, and how to reinstall cleanly. - [Diagnostics & Error Reference](https://swarmfile.com/docs/reference/diagnostics-and-errors.md): Doctor checks, health endpoints, status counters, and what each error code means and what to do. - [Environment Variable Index](https://swarmfile.com/docs/reference/environment-variables.md): Every SWARMFILE_* variable, its default, and whether it can live in config.json instead. - [Engine Config File (config.json)](https://swarmfile.com/docs/reference/config-file.md): Every config.json key, its env-var override and default, and how to hand-edit it for headless nodes. - [Network Requirements](https://swarmfile.com/docs/reference/network-requirements.md): Every port, protocol, and host Swarmfile talks to, for firewall allowlisting before rollout. - [Storage Format](https://swarmfile.com/docs/reference/storage-format.md): How file bytes are stored - chunking, CIDs, manifests, encryption, erasure coding, bucket layout - and how to reconstruct a file by hand. - [Telemetry & Data Collection](https://swarmfile.com/docs/reference/telemetry-and-data-collection.md): What the client reports, what is metered server-side, and what each third party can and cannot see. - [Known Limitations](https://swarmfile.com/docs/reference/known-limitations.md): What's deliberately not built or works differently - engine plugins, Perforce history, git rebase, E2E with git-LFS, fixed encryption tiers, and more. ## Docs: CLI Reference - [swarmfile](https://swarmfile.com/docs/cli/swarmfile.md): The primary CLI - version control, day-to-day mount operations. - [swarmfile-doctor](https://swarmfile.com/docs/cli/swarmfile-doctor.md): Standalone connectivity diagnostics, no running engine required. - [swarmfile-migrate](https://swarmfile.com/docs/cli/swarmfile-migrate.md): Bulk-import an existing directory, file list, or S3 bucket. - [swarmfile-search](https://swarmfile.com/docs/cli/swarmfile-search.md): Full-text search from the command line. - [swarmfile-seed](https://swarmfile.com/docs/cli/swarmfile-seed.md): One-shot: seed a single local file into the hub. - [swarmfile-brlock](https://swarmfile.com/docs/cli/swarmfile-brlock.md): Byte-range lock test client, for native-app plugin developers. - [swarmfile-runner](https://swarmfile.com/docs/cli/swarmfile-runner.md): Run the engine headless in runner mode (CI), no FUSE. - [swarmfile-verify-history](https://swarmfile.com/docs/cli/swarmfile-verify-history.md): Verify a project's signed commit chain against the hub. - [swarmfile-lfs-transfer](https://swarmfile.com/docs/cli/swarmfile-lfs-transfer.md): git-LFS custom transfer agent (spawned by git-lfs). - [git-remote-swarmfile](https://swarmfile.com/docs/cli/git-remote-swarmfile.md): The git remote helper behind swarmfile:// clone, fetch and push. ## Full documentation export - [Swarmfile Documentation (Markdown, always current)](https://swarmfile.com/llms-full.txt): the complete documentation in one file, for AI coding assistants and offline reading. - [Swarmfile Documentation v0.3.10 (Markdown, pinned to this version)](https://releases.swarmfile.com/docs/v0.3.10/swarmfile-docs-0.3.10.md): the same file frozen at this release. - [Documentation downloads & feeds](https://swarmfile.com/docs/resources): combined PDF, published version history, and an RSS feed for every page. ## Use the docs in your AI tools - [Swarmfile documentation MCP server](https://swarmfile.com/mcp): a read-only Model Context Protocol endpoint (search_swarmfile_docs, read_swarmfile_docs, get_swarmfile_docs_index) over this same documentation - point an MCP client (Claude, Cursor, and others) at it. ## Blog - [Swarmfile: A streaming version-control system](https://swarmfile.com/blog/swarmfile-a-streaming-version-control-system): Swarmfile is a streaming version-control system: a mounted drive that holds millions of files and petabytes of content, shares bytes peer-to-peer, and keeps Git-shaped collaboration. Why we built it, what it can do that Git can't, and where it goes next. - [Clone and push a Swarmfile project with git](https://swarmfile.com/blog/clone-and-push-a-swarmfile-project-with-git): A project can now serve a real git remote: clone it with the bundled helper, work in it, and fast-forward push back - with the guardrails (protected branches, merges, large commits) stated up front. - [Swarmfile is now a git-LFS server](https://swarmfile.com/blog/swarmfile-is-now-a-git-lfs-server): Point git-LFS at Swarmfile and get real storage, dedup, and quota for your large binary assets, while your source stays in the git host you already use. - [What a read actually costs: measuring Swarmfile on a real 8 GB file](https://swarmfile.com/blog/what-a-read-actually-costs): Cold reads of 1 GiB and 8 GiB files on our staging service: bytes moved, time to first byte, the second we were wasting on every cloud read, and the limits we haven't tested yet. - [Why our Mac mount doesn't need a kernel extension](https://swarmfile.com/blog/why-our-mac-mount-has-no-kernel-extension): What a kext used to cost you on Apple Silicon, what FUSE-T actually is, and the two-detector trick for catching a userspace mount helper that's alive but stopped responding. - [Losing a machine shouldn't cost you a shard](https://swarmfile.com/blog/erasure-coding-and-deliberate-shard-placement): Reed-Solomon 10+4, the exact threshold that turns adaptive erasure coding on and off, and how deliberate LAN shard placement uses real rendezvous hashing to guarantee (not just hope) that losing one machine doesn't touch your data. - [One office, one download: how the LAN-first P2P actually works](https://swarmfile.com/blog/lan-first-p2p-one-office-one-download): The private QUIC swarm, mDNS peer discovery, the fallback chain from LAN to WAN to cloud, and why there's no explicit "publish" step behind the office's first editor warming the cache for everyone else.