CAVS

CAVS is an open-source toolkit for game updates, patch generation, build analysis, and efficient content delivery.

It helps developers reduce update sizes by reusing data from previous builds, installed files, local caches, and generated update plans instead of forcing players to download a full new build every time.

CAVS can be used as a CLI tool, integrated into custom pipelines through SDKs, or used as a local analyzer to understand why a game update is large.

What CAVS provides

• Build packing and update generation tools.
• Offline .cavsplan update plans.
• Patch apply and verification tools.
• Signature and integrity verification.
• SteamPipe-style local update analysis.
• Pack-file analysis for shifted data, scattered changes, compressed blobs, large packs, and TOC/offset issues.
• Benchmark tools for comparing update strategies.
• Local workspace support for apps, depots, branches, builds, install plans, and shared content.
• SDKs that wrap the Rust core libraries for pipeline integration.
• A local development server for testing update workflows.

Why it may be useful

Many games ship frequent patches, especially during development, early access, demos, and post-launch updates. Sometimes a small change can produce a large update because of how the build is packed or compressed.

CAVS helps developers answer questions like:

• Why is this update so large?
• Which file or pack is causing most of the update cost?
• Would a directory layout patch better than a single compressed file?
• How much data would players need to download?
• How much local disk I/O would the update require?
• Which update route is better for this build?
• Can shared content between demo, full game, DLC, or platform builds be reused?

CAVS is not a game store, CDN, or hosting platform. It is a lower-level update engine and analysis toolkit that can fit into different development, build, and publishing workflows.

Current status

CAVS is still evolving, and feedback from real projects is very welcome.

The Godot integration is currently the main focus. Unity and Unreal plugins are planned/in progress, but the core system, SDKs, benchmarks, and pipeline workflow are the current priority.

Feedback and issues can be reported here:

https://github.com/orelvis15/cavs/issues

Repository:

https://github.com/orelvis15/cavs

Website:

https://orelvis15.github.io/cavs/