DotLabs Studios – Game Development

Asset Nexus documentation

A complete, organised library of assets for Unreal Engine, with an advanced cataloguing system, live previews and direct integration in the editor.

Overview

Asset Nexus is a powerful plugin for Unreal Engine 5.6, built by DotLabs Studios, that changes the way assets are managed and shared between projects.

The plugin lets you:

  • Create and organise asset collections in a structured way
  • Migrate assets with every dependency, using the native migration system of Unreal Engine
  • Keep your collections in sync automatically through popular cloud services:
    • Google Drive
    • OneDrive
    • Nextcloud

Asset Nexus joins the power of the Unreal engine with a layer for organising and working together in the cloud, making the move of assets between projects, teams and editor versions simple and safe.

Main features

Core features

  • Smart asset migration
    It uses the native migration system of Unreal Engine to move assets and every dependency with them, leaving nothing behind.
  • Collection management
    Create and organise structured asset collections, with full metadata (name, author, description, creation and edit date, and so on).
  • Native cloud synchronisation
    Built-in, direct support for:
    • Google Drive
    • OneDrive
    • Nextcloud
      The collections are synced automatically into the folder you choose, ready for work across devices or with a team.
  • A flexible tag system
    Give collections custom tags to sort them quickly and consistently (for example “Environment”, “Character”, “Modular”, “Sci-Fi”).
  • Automatic thumbnail previews
    It makes a visual thumbnail for every collection:
    • Captured from the 3D viewport
    • Or loaded by hand from a picture of your own
      Either way, the collection is easy to spot in the library.
  • Advanced filters
    Find exactly what you are looking for with powerful filters:
    • By developer or author
    • By tag
    • By content, name or description
      Full-text search included.
  • An intuitive interface
    A UI built into the Unreal Engine editor, reachable from the toolbar or from the Window → Asset Nexus menu.
    A clean, familiar design, with no steep learning curve.

Technical features

  • Compatibility → Unreal Engine 5.6 and later
  • Type → Editor Plugin
  • Category → Asset Management
  • Architecture → A C++ module with the interface built in Slate

All of this makes Asset Nexus an essential tool for anyone working with shared assets, several versions of Unreal Engine or distributed teams.

Installation

System requirements

  • Unreal Engine 5.6 or later
  • Windows 10/11 (other platforms are being worked on)
  • Disk space: at least 100 MB for the plugin, plus room for the asset library

Installing the plugin

  1. Download and install:
    • Download the plugin from the Fab Marketplace
    • Unpack it into the Plugins folder of your project
    • Restart Unreal Engine
  2. Turn it on:
    • Open your project in Unreal Engine
    • Go to Edit > Plugins
    • Look for “Asset Nexus” under the “Asset Management” category
    • Enable the plugin and restart the editor
  3. Check the installation:
    • Look for the Asset Nexus icon in the main toolbar
    • The plugin should appear in the Window > Asset Nexus menu

First setup

Basic settings

  1. Opening the settings panel:
    • Click the Asset Nexus icon in the toolbar
    • Select the “Settings” tab
  2. Setting the paths:
    • Asset Nexus Library Path: set the path of the asset library
    • Default Developer Name: set your default developer name

Setting up file mirroring

Asset Nexus can keep itself in sync through cloud services.
Set up one of these:

Google Drive setup (file mirroring)

Before you start

  • An active Google Drive account
  • Google Drive Desktop installed and set up

Setup

  1. Installing Google Drive Desktop
  2. Setting up Asset Nexus
    • Open Asset Nexus Settings
    • Set “Asset Nexus Library Path” to a folder inside Google Drive:
      C:\Users\[Username]\Google Drive\AssetNexus
    • Save the settings
  3. Checking the synchronisation
    • Create a test collection
    • Check that it appears in the Google Drive folder
    • Check the synchronisation on another device

Why Google Drive

  • ✅ Automatic synchronisation in real time
  • ✅ Easy sharing with a team
  • ✅ 15 GB free (can be expanded)
  • ✅ Reachable from any device

OneDrive setup (file mirroring)

Before you start

  • An active Microsoft/OneDrive account
  • OneDrive Desktop in sync

Setup

  1. Setting up OneDrive
    • OneDrive comes with Windows 10/11
    • Sign in with your Microsoft account
    • Choose the folders to sync
  2. Setting up Asset Nexus
    • Open Asset Nexus Settings
    • Set “Asset Nexus Library Path” to a OneDrive folder:
      C:\Users\[Username]\OneDrive\AssetNexus
    • Save the settings
  3. Performance tuning
    • Turn on “Files On-Demand” to save space
    • Set selective synchronisation for the big folders

Why OneDrive

  • ✅ Built into Windows
  • ✅ Files On-Demand to manage space
  • ✅ Fast synchronisation
  • ✅ 5 GB free (up to 5 TB)
  • ✅ Sharing and collaboration built in

Nextcloud setup (file mirroring)

Before you start

  • A Nextcloud server set up (self-hosted or from a provider)
  • The Nextcloud Desktop Client

Setup

  1. Installing Nextcloud Desktop
  2. Setting up the synchronisation
    • Create a folder called “AssetNexus” on Nextcloud
    • Set up the local synchronisation:
      C:\Users\[Username]\Nextcloud\AssetNexus
  3. Setting up Asset Nexus
    • Open Asset Nexus Settings
    • Set “Asset Nexus Library Path” to the Nextcloud path:
      C:\Users\[Username]\Nextcloud\AssetNexus
    • Save the settings
  4. Advanced settings
    • Turn on synchronisation in real time
    • Leave temporary files out of the sync
    • Set a bandwidth limit if you need one

Why Nextcloud

  • ✅ Full control of your data (self-hosted)
  • ✅ Privacy and security to the highest degree
  • ✅ No storage limit (it depends on the server)
  • ✅ End-to-end encrypted synchronisation
  • ✅ Granular sharing and access control
  • ✅ Fits into company workflows

How to use it

Making an asset collection

  1. Choosing the assets:
    • In the Content Browser, select the assets to migrate
    • Right-click and choose “Send to Asset Nexus”
    • Or open Asset Nexus and use the “Migrator” tab
  2. The metadata:
    • Collection Name: a unique name for the collection
    • Author: the name of the author (filled in from the settings)
    • Description: a detailed description of the collection
    • Tags: tags to sort the collection
  3. The thumbnail:
    • Capture from Viewport: take a screenshot of the 3D viewport
    • Load from File: load a picture of your own
    • The thumbnail helps you recognise the collection at a glance
  4. The migration:
    • Click “Migrate” to finish the process
    • The plugin copies every asset and every dependency
    • A metadata.json file is created with all the information

Importing collections

  1. Browsing the library:
    • Open the “Browser” tab in Asset Nexus
    • Move through the collections that are there
    • Use the filters to find a particular collection
  2. The filters:
    • Search Box: search by name or description
    • Tag Filters: filter by specific tags
    • Developer Filter*: filter by developer
    • Thumbnail Size: set how big the previews are
  3. Importing:
    • Select the collection you want
    • Click “Import Collection”
    • The assets are imported into the current project

Managing tags

  1. Local ones:
    • Kept in the local configuration file
    • Belong to that installation only
  2. Global tags:
    • Shared through the library in the cloud
    • In sync for every member of the team
  3. Good practice:
    • Use descriptive, consistent tags
    • Agree a naming convention with the team
    • Examples: “Environment”, “Character”, “Weapon”, “UI”

Files and folders

How the library is organised

AssetNexus/
├── CollectionName1/
│   ├── metadata.json
│   ├── thumbnail.png
│   └── Content/
│       ├── Assets/
│       └── Dependencies/
├── CollectionName2/
│   ├── metadata.json
│   ├── thumbnail.png
│   └── Content/
└── GlobalTags.json

Configuration files

AssetNexusLocalSettings.json (local)

{
    "AssetLibraryRoot": "C:/Users/Username/GoogleDrive/AssetNexus",
    "DefaultDeveloperName": "YourName",
    "ClearCollectionListOnSuccessfulMigration": true,
    "SavedTags": ["Environment", "Character", "Weapon"]
}

GlobalSettings.json (shared)

{
    "LibraryPath": "C:/SharedLibrary/AssetNexus"
}

metadata.json (one for each collection)

{
    "Author": "DeveloperName",
    "CollectionName": "MyAssetPack",
    "Description": "Collection description",
    "Tags": ["Environment", "Medieval"],
    "CreationDate": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z",
    "LastModified": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z",
    "ObjectsInCollection": ["/Game/Assets/Mesh1", "/Game/Assets/Material1"]
}

Troubleshooting

Common problems

  1. The plugin does not load:
    • Check it is compatible with UE 5.6+
    • Check that the plugin is in the right folder
    • Rebuild the project if you need to
  2. The library path is not found:
    • Check that the path exists and can be reached
    • Check the permissions of the folder
    • Make sure the cloud service is in sync
  3. The migration fails:
    • Check that the assets are saved
    • Check the free space on the disk
    • Look in the Unreal Engine logs for the specific error
  4. The cloud synchronisation is slow:
    • Check the internet connection
    • Check the bandwidth settings of the cloud client
    • Consider selective synchronisation

Logs and debugging

Asset Nexus uses the logging system of Unreal Engine:

  • Category: LogAssetNexus
  • Levels: Log, Warning, Error
  • To see them: the Output Log window

Asset Nexus

The Asset Nexus page: what it does, the screenshots and where to find it.

Discover Asset Nexus