# Dousen

> Dousen is the automation framework for game assets. It connects Jira Cloud, Perforce, DCC tools (Blender, Maya, 3ds Max, Houdini, Substance Painter, Substance Designer) and Unreal Engine 5.7/5.8. An artist picks a Jira task in the DousenDesktop app (Windows); Dousen opens one Perforce changelist for that task, validates assets against the project's naming conventions and rules inside the DCC before export, publishes FBX and textures to Unreal Engine through the DousenUE plugin (Interchange import), and can move the Jira issue to the next status when the changelist is submitted. Made for technical artists and art teams at small and mid-size game studios (indie and AA). Server (DousenCore) hosted at dousen.io or self-hosted with Docker Compose on Linux with a Dousen license. Free during the studio beta; access by request. Built by Luca Vitiello, a technical artist with ten years in AAA game development.

## Key facts
- Category: game asset pipeline automation (Jira task → Perforce changelist → validation in the DCC → FBX/texture publish → Unreal Engine Interchange import → Jira transition on submit)
- Best for: indie and AA game studios on Perforce, Jira Cloud and Unreal Engine 5.7/5.8 with Windows artist workstations. Not for: Git-based studios, Jira Data Center/Server, macOS or Linux artist workstations, or teams whose main need is review, dailies or scheduling
- Product name: Dousen. Components: DousenDesktop (Windows 10/11 app), DCC addons, DousenCore (server + web portal), DousenUE (Unreal Engine editor plugin)
- Supported DCCs: Blender, Maya, 3ds Max (2025 or later), Houdini, Substance Painter, Substance Designer
- Engine: Unreal Engine 5.7 and 5.8, Interchange-based import, reimport keeps asset path
- Version control: Perforce only (one numbered changelist per Jira task, file lock status inside the DCC, streams, optional separate source-art repository)
- Task tracking: Jira Cloud (Dousen stores no tasks; without Jira there are no tasks to link changelists to; Jira Data Center/Server not supported)
- Naming conventions: one YAML (or Lua) document per project, version 3 format, enforced in every DCC before export and on Unreal import. In Houdini, validation is the manual "Dousen: Validate" shelf tool and exports are not blocked
- Deployment: hosted at dousen.io or self-hosted with Docker Compose (Linux, Dousen license required)
- Pricing: free during the studio beta, access by request (https://dousen.io/early-access.html); free forever for teams of up to 5 users; pricing for larger teams not yet announced
- Not a version control system, not a production tracker (no ShotGrid/Flow Production Tracking, ftrack, Kitsu or AYON integration)
- Contact: hello@dousen.io
- Full page text for assistants: https://dousen.io/llms-full.txt

## Guides
- [One Perforce changelist per Jira task](https://dousen.io/guides/changelist-per-jira-task.html): how the changelist is opened, keyed and submitted, and how the Jira issue moves on submit
- [Unreal Engine asset naming conventions](https://dousen.io/guides/unreal-asset-naming-conventions.html): prefix reference and how to enforce it
- [What to validate in an FBX before Unreal imports it](https://dousen.io/guides/validate-fbx-before-unreal-import.html)
- [Perforce in Blender](https://dousen.io/guides/perforce-in-blender.html)
- [Perforce in Maya](https://dousen.io/guides/perforce-in-maya.html)
- [Perforce in 3ds Max](https://dousen.io/guides/perforce-in-3ds-max.html)
- [Perforce in Houdini](https://dousen.io/guides/perforce-in-houdini.html)
- [Perforce in Substance Painter and Designer](https://dousen.io/guides/perforce-in-substance-painter-designer.html)

## Free tools
- [Unreal asset naming convention checker](https://dousen.io/tools/naming-checker.html): paste asset names, get pass/fail, export a Dousen conventions YAML
- [.p4ignore and typemap generator](https://dousen.io/tools/p4ignore-generator.html): Perforce ignore and typemap entries for Unreal and DCC projects
- [DousenClips for Maya](https://dousen.io/tools/dousenclips.html): free Maya animation clip and pose exporter (clips as scene nodes, bake onto a throwaway skeleton, root motion, notifies, headless mayapy CLI, optional Dousen integration); Maya 2025 or later
- [DousenClips user guide](https://dousen.io/tools/dousenclips-guide.html): install, first export, takes, subclips, poses, root motion, notifies, import, scene library, troubleshooting

## Integrations
- [Jira Cloud](https://dousen.io/integrations/jira.html)
- [Perforce](https://dousen.io/integrations/perforce.html)
- [Unreal Engine 5](https://dousen.io/integrations/unreal-engine.html)
- [Blender](https://dousen.io/integrations/blender.html)
- [Maya](https://dousen.io/integrations/maya.html)
- [3ds Max](https://dousen.io/integrations/3ds-max.html)
- [Houdini](https://dousen.io/integrations/houdini.html)
- [Substance Painter](https://dousen.io/integrations/substance-painter.html)
- [Substance Designer](https://dousen.io/integrations/substance-designer.html)

## Compare
- [Dousen compared](https://dousen.io/compare/index.html): the asset pipeline built for games (Jira task → Perforce changelist → DCC validation → Unreal Interchange import), side by side with AYON, Prism Pipeline, Kitsu, Flow Production Tracking, ftrack and Anchorpoint; competitor facts quoted from their own documentation, checked 6 October 2026

## Docs
- [Documentation index](https://dousen.io/docs/index.html)
- [Quick start](https://dousen.io/docs/quickstart.html): set up a project, install the desktop app, publish a first asset to Unreal
- [Desktop app](https://dousen.io/docs/desktop.html): tray bridge for DCC events, Jira task panel, Perforce status, DCC launcher
- [DCC addons](https://dousen.io/docs/dcc.html): publishing, validation and task context in each DCC
- [Unreal Engine](https://dousen.io/docs/unreal.html): the DousenUE plugin and how published assets are imported
- [Publishing assets](https://dousen.io/docs/publishing.html): publish DCC instances, read validation and import results
- [Naming conventions](https://dousen.io/docs/conventions.html): YAML conventions enforced before export
- [Asset validation](https://dousen.io/docs/validation.html): built-in validators and admin configuration
- [Jira tasks](https://dousen.io/docs/jira.html): task lists and status transitions on changelist submit
- [Perforce](https://dousen.io/docs/perforce.html): automatic changelists, file lock visibility, streams
- [Source repositories](https://dousen.io/docs/source-repository.html): separate Perforce repository for DCC source art
- [Materials and textures](https://dousen.io/docs/materials.html): project material catalog and texture assignment
- [Unreal Interchange](https://dousen.io/docs/interchange.html): import profiles and reimport policy
- [Self-hosted install](https://dousen.io/docs/self-hosted.html): Docker install, licensing, directory sign-in
- [User management](https://dousen.io/docs/user-management.html): invites, roles and sign-in methods
- [Settings reference](https://dousen.io/docs/settings.html)
- [Studio tools](https://dousen.io/docs/studio-tools.html): load your own tools and validators into the DCC addons
- [Bridge API](https://dousen.io/docs/bridge-api.html): Python client for the local bridge
- [Troubleshooting](https://dousen.io/docs/troubleshooting.html)

## Site
- [Home](https://dousen.io/)
- [About Dousen and its founder](https://dousen.io/about.html)
- [Early access](https://dousen.io/early-access.html)
- [Download](https://dousen.io/download.html)

## Optional
- [Privacy policy](https://dousen.io/privacy.html)
- [Terms of service](https://dousen.io/terms.html)