How does Oak compare to Git on speed?

Oak's published benchmarks show snapshots in many-small-files repos drop from 29,723 ms on Git to 1,412 ms on Oak (-95%), task snapshots of many large binaries from 443 ms to 23.2 ms (-95%), and full diffs over multi-GB binaries from 3,945 ms to 271 ms (-93%). Cold-start init is slower than Git (42.6 ms vs 14.8 ms).

Does Oak train on my code or call any AI service?

Oak does not train models on user code and makes no AI calls on its own behalf. Any coding agent run alongside Oak keeps its own separate privacy posture, per the project's homepage.

Can I move an Oak repo back to Git?

Oak ships an export command that replays a branch history into a standard Git repository, and exposes a read-only Git Smart-HTTP endpoint so plain git clone can fetch the current main tree without any conversion step.

Oak's CLI is free and self-hostable. The managed Pro plan on oak.space is $10 / month and includes 100 GB of hosted storage; pricing is listed on the site.

Oak · 2026-06-22 · major

Oak — version control built for AI coding agents

Oak is a new version control system for AI coding agents that mounts repos lazily, runs branch-per-task, and benchmarks up to 95% faster than Git on snapshots, large binaries, and dirty trees.

Oak — version control at the speed of agents

A new version control system that treats agents as the primary user — lazy mounts, branch-per-task, and Git interop.

Quick facts

Maker	Zach Geier with Adam Morse
Platforms	macOS (Apple Silicon, Intel via Rosetta), Linux x86_64
Install	curl -fsSL https://oak.space \| sh
Storage backends	Local SQLite or Git
Pro plan	$10 / month with 100 GB included
Git interop	oak export to Git, read-only git Smart-HTTP for clone
Source	Public at oak.space/oak/oak

What is it?

Oak is a version control system designed for autonomous coding agents. Instead of full clones and per-commit messages, Oak hydrates a repo on demand, gives every agent task its own branch, and uses the branch description as the commit message. The CLI is free and open source, with a paid hosted plan on oak.space.

How does it work?

Built in Rust around BLAKE3 hashing and content-defined chunking, Oak ships an `oakvcs-core` library plus an `oak` CLI. Mounting a repo streams the manifest first, then fetches file contents on first read, so agents start editing within a second. Optional storage backends include SQLite or Git, and an export command replays branches into a standard Git history.

Why does it matter?

Most VCS friction in agentic workflows comes from full clones, locked working trees, and per-commit message overhead. Oak removes those by design and reports 90%+ speedups on snapshots, diffs, and large-binary handling, which is the exact path agents hit dozens of times per task. The Show HN launch on June 22 hit the front page with 151 points within hours.

Who is it for?

Teams running fleets of coding agents (Codex, Claude Code, Cursor) on large or binary-heavy repos.

Frequently asked questions

How does Oak compare to Git on speed?: Oak's published benchmarks show snapshots in many-small-files repos drop from 29,723 ms on Git to 1,412 ms on Oak (-95%), task snapshots of many large binaries from 443 ms to 23.2 ms (-95%), and full diffs over multi-GB binaries from 3,945 ms to 271 ms (-93%). Cold-start init is slower than Git (42.6 ms vs 14.8 ms).
Does Oak train on my code or call any AI service?: Oak does not train models on user code and makes no AI calls on its own behalf. Any coding agent run alongside Oak keeps its own separate privacy posture, per the project's homepage.
Can I move an Oak repo back to Git?: Oak ships an export command that replays a branch history into a standard Git repository, and exposes a read-only Git Smart-HTTP endpoint so plain git clone can fetch the current main tree without any conversion step.
What does Oak cost?: Oak's CLI is free and self-hostable. The managed Pro plan on oak.space is $10 / month and includes 100 GB of hosted storage; pricing is listed on the site.

Try it

curl -fsSL https://oak.space | sh