Dwarf Fortress uses version control now
Simon Willison’s Weblog
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11th October 2026
I remember hearing a while ago that Dwarf Fortress didn't use version control. That fact has been lodged in my head, because given its inherent complexity I have trouble imagining a codebase that would benefit from version control more. That's art.
I went looking and I'm sad to report that the days without version control appear to have ended. Quoting Tarn Adams over time:
March 2013: "I don't use version control -- I didn't like the feeling of having the code get committed into a black box thingy with no immediate upside"
March 2016: "I don’t even use version control. If you don’t know what that is then you’re not gonna yell at me. If you even know what version control is you’re gonna be like, ‘You don’t use version control? You don’t use source control? What is wrong with you? How can you even work? I’m just not cut out for it, in a sense. It’s been 15 years, so the reasons have change over time, but that’s my current understanding of it."
March 2023: "I've got Discord channels to check and version control stuff to use now, so the process is definitely a little more involved"
That March 2023 quote comes from an interview about the release on Steam which made them millionaires. I'm a tiny bit sad that they gave in before they hit that milestone, but what an impressive run.
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This is a note by Simon Willison, posted on 11th October 2026.
version-control 12
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