Game Tooling - Overview

Standalone desktop app

This is the standalone tooling - one of two distinct kinds of tooling in these docs. It is its own app, separate from any game engine. The other, the Unity Dev Tooling, lives inside the Unity Editor.

Folder-Watcher Sync is a small desktop app that sits quietly in the background and automatically copies your files from one folder into your project folder (or folders) whenever they change. Point it at your export folder once, and you never have to drag your exports into the project by hand again. It works with any engine - Unity, Unreal, Godot - you just pick the folders.

What it does

One to many	One source folder can copy into several project folders at once.
Keeps subfolders	Subfolders are watched too, and the same folder structure is recreated where the files land.
Never changes your originals	It only copies. Your source files are never moved, renamed, or deleted.
Only copies what is newer	A file is copied only when it is new or has been updated, so nothing is overwritten needlessly.
Waits for saves to finish	It waits until a file has finished being written before copying, so you never get a half-saved file.
Ignores deletions	Deleting a file from the source does not delete it from your project (safe for assets already referenced).
Stays out of the way	It lives in your menu bar / system tray. Closing the window keeps it running in the background.

The app at a glance

The app has three tabs:

Mappings

Set up which folders copy where, and the filters on each. Open

Activity

A live list of everything that has been copied, skipped, or had a problem. Open

Settings

App-wide options: copy existing files on start, large-folder warnings, sound. Open

Install

Download the installer for your operating system and run it like any other app.

Your computer	Download and open
macOS	the .dmg, then drag the app into Applications
Windows	the .msi or the setup .exe
Linux	the .deb (Ubuntu/Debian) or the .AppImage (most other distros)

First time you open it

The app is not yet code-signed, so your computer may warn that the developer cannot be verified. This is expected and safe to allow:

• macOS: right-click (or Control-click) the app and choose Open, then confirm.
• Windows: click More info, then Run anyway.

Get started in three steps

1. Open the app. It appears in your menu bar (macOS), system tray (Windows), or notification area (Linux).
2. Add a mapping. On the Mappings tab, pick the folder to copy from (your export folder) and the folder(s) to copy to (your project’s asset folders). See Folder Sync & Mappings for every option.
3. Leave it running. New and updated files now copy across on their own. Closing the window keeps it working in the background.

Tip

Turn on Start at login (on the Settings tab) so the app is always running and your files are always in sync without you thinking about it.

Hit something annoying? Tell us.

If anything about the folder-watcher sync app feels repetitive, fiddly, or just slows you down, that is exactly the kind of thing we can build a tool for. No idea is too small - a lot of what exists here started as someone saying "I wish this just did itself."

Share an idea or annoyance →