Krita VCS

The Krita VCS plugin (aka Krita VC)

A small Version Control panel that lives right inside Krita, so you can save a version, set work aside, or switch branches without ever leaving your canvas. It runs on the exact same engine and the exact same history as the desktop app. Save from either one, and the other sees it.

Download the plugin
← Krita plugin

Installing the plugin

Needs Krita with Python scripting enabled, which is on by default. Check under Settings → Configure Krita → Python Plugin Manager if you're not sure.

  1. Download and unzip.

    Download the plugin zip and unzip it. Inside you'll find a pykrita folder and the kvc tool it talks to, already built, nothing to compile.

  2. Find Krita's plugin folder.

    In Krita: Settings → Manage Resources → Open Resource Folder. Look for a pykrita folder inside; create it if it isn't there yet.

  3. Copy the plugin in.

    Copy the kritavc.desktop file and the kritavc folder from the zip into that pykrita folder. Both need to land directly inside it, not nested a level deeper.

  4. Enable it and restart.

    Settings → Configure Krita → Python Plugin Manager, find "Krita VC" in the list and check it on, then restart Krita. Python plugins only load at startup, so this step isn't optional.

  5. Open the panel.

    Settings → Dockers → Version Control. If it's not there, the plugin didn't load. Double-check the previous two steps.

  6. Point it at kvc, if asked.

    If the panel says the kvc tool wasn't found, click Locate kvc… and browse to the kvc file from the zip you downloaded.

Uninstalling: turn off "Krita VC" in the Python Plugin Manager, then delete kritavc.desktop and the kritavc folder from the resource folder. Nothing about your projects or their history lives in the plugin folder, so removing it doesn't touch your work.

Building it from source instead? See the technical guide on GitHub (opens in a new tab)