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Known limitations (GitMCloud)

Honest list of GitMCloud's gaps and rough edges, for internal use.

By design

  • Read-mostly. GitMCloud can view everything and write a small set of metadata (freeze, part-number allocation, milestones, lock release, team changes). Anything needing SolidWorks or local Git — check in/out, generate a BOM, stamp a part number into a file, create or merge branches — is not possible and shows as disabled.
  • No CAD backend of its own. Repository/CAD data comes straight from the GitHub API plus a set of thin Vercel serverless functions (access check, OAuth device flow, LFS URL/locks/sizes, APS token/translate/manifest, supplier share verify/download, Exchange App setup). Per-user state (token, connection) lives in the browser's localStorage. A Firebase project (Firestore
  • Realtime Database) backs Supplier Exchange, live icon refresh, and — on licensed deployments — the Tandem licence store; there is still no GitMCloud-owned database for the CAD data itself.
  • GitHub only. Like GitM, it's tied to GitHub.
  • Desktop-first, with a mobile layer. The desktop browser experience is the source of truth; an additive responsive layer (breakpoint 768px) supports phones — see Use GitMCloud on a phone. Native mobile apps are not planned.

Access and auth

  • Allowlist is fail-closed and env-var based. Empty ALLOWED_OWNERS locks everyone out, and updates need a ~30s redeploy. A Vercel KV upgrade for instant updates is planned, not shipped.
  • Allowlist is per owner, not per individual user under that owner.
  • "Sign in with GitHub" requires an OAuth client ID (VITE_GITHUB_CLIENT_ID). Without it, only PAT sign-in is available.

File viewer

  • ShareCAD preview is unreliable for private-repo LFS files — it often renders blank. The APS/Autodesk viewer now handles neutral 3D (STEP/IGES/STL/Parasolid) and, by device preference, native SolidWorks parts/assemblies; ShareCAD remains the engine for drawings and DXF. Private-repo LFS reliability through APS is still being hardened. Workaround where a preview fails: download the file (e.g. via the Exchange page) or open it in SolidWorks.

Data contracts with GitM

  • The BOM schema and the part-number registry (schema, prefixes, padding, allocation algorithm) are shared contracts with GitM. Changing one side without the other breaks the display or causes number collisions. Coordinate any change across both projects.

Sharing

  • The Exchange page is public and unauthenticated. Any link you share is effectively public — treat it accordingly.

Versioning / docs

  • This documentation reflects GitMCloud's shipped state as of 2026-07-07. Notable features since the initial docs (2026-05-31): read-only Cx pill per file row (distinct cloud-version count, identical to the GitM add-in's computation), the Versions view renamed to Snapshots, the additive mobile layer, the APS viewer dispatch, and the Tandem portal licence layer (company-admin + operator consoles). The app auto-deploys from main, so features may move ahead of these pages — verify against the live app if something looks off.