How do I install Unreal Engine?

Copy the stdio config for Cursor, Claude Desktop, Claude Code, or VS Code on this page. It uses the publisher's install, not a PlugMCP proxy.

Does Unreal Engine need an API key?

The publisher lists these environment variables: UE_PROJECT_PATH, MCP_AUTOMATION_CAPABILITY_TOKEN, UNREAL_MCP_URL, LOG_LEVEL.

What transport does Unreal Engine use?

Unreal Engine runs locally over stdio.

When was Unreal Engine last checked?

Last checked 2026-11-10. EngineWire: drive the Unreal Editor (UE 5.0-5.8): levels, Blueprints, UI, materials, VFX and more.

Unreal Engine MCP server

Contents · What it does · How it works · Quick start · The unreal tool · Configuration · Security · Engine plugins · Docker · Documentation · Development · Community

What it does

🏗️ Levels and actors Spawn one actor or hundreds in a single call, place and attach them, find the ones sunk into the floor, and load, stream and save levels.

🧩 Blueprints and UI Create Blueprints, variables and components, build whole event graphs in one batch, and lay out UMG widgets, with a preview image to check them.

🎨 Materials and worlds Material graphs and instances, procedural textures, lighting, landscapes, foliage, Niagara effects and PCG graphs.

🕹️ Gameplay Characters and animation, Gameplay Ability System, AI (Behavior Trees, State Trees, EQS), inventory, networking and Enhanced Input.

🎬 Cinematics and audio Level Sequences, cameras, Movie Render Queue and Take Recorder; Sound Cues and MetaSounds.

🧪 Play and verify Run Play-In-Editor with synthetic input, take screenshots the model can see, read logs, profile, run Python, and package builds.

Nearly 400 capabilities in all, behind a single MCP tool. The assistant finds them by searching in plain words, so nobody has to learn their names. The full list is the generated Action Reference.

How it works

The EngineWire plugin runs inside the editor and does all the work, on the editor's game thread. Clients reach it in one of two ways, and both expose the same single tool, unreal:

	🌐 Route A · Native HTTP	🧩 Route B · stdio
Path	Client → the plugin's Streamable HTTP server at `http://127.0.0.1:3000/mcp`	Client → `unreal-engine-mcp-server` (Node.js, stdio) → the plugin's WebSocket on `127.0.0.1:8090`
Node.js	Not needed	20.19 or later
Capability token	The client sends it in the `X-MCP-Capability-Token` header	Read from the project, given `UE_PROJECT_PATH`
Best for	Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code, and several clients sharing one editor	Claude Desktop, and clients that only launch local commands

Everything listens on 127.0.0.1 and requires the project's capability token unless you change it.

Quick start

The Quick Start page walks through this with screenshots. You need Unreal Engine 5.0 to 5.8 and a project with C++ code; a Blueprint-only project can use prebuilt binaries.

1. Add the plugin

Download EngineWire-plugin-<version>.zip from the newest v0.6 pre-release on the Releases page, and copy the EngineWire folder it contains into your project:

MyGame/Plugins/EngineWire/

Or use a clone of this repository: copy plugins/EngineWire/, or reference the folder from your .uproject with "AdditionalPluginDirectories": ["C:/Path/To/Unreal_mcp/plugins"].

Open the project and let Unreal rebuild the plugin. When it's loaded, the status bar shows MCP off. If you see "Engine modules cannot be compiled at runtime", build the project once in Visual Studio, Rider or Xcode. More in Installation.

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/d8b86ebc-4364-48c9-9781-de854bf3ef7d

Build the plugin once on a machine with the engine and a compiler, then hand out the zip. No compiler is needed on the target machine:

node scripts/package-plugin.mjs "C:/Program Files/Epic Games/UE_5.7"

This writes build/EngineWire-v<version>-UE5.7-<Platform>.zip, where <version> is the package.json version (currently 0.6.0-beta-f). Unzip it into YourProject/Plugins/. Binaries only work with the engine minor and platform they were built for: a 5.6 build won't load in 5.5, 5.7 or 5.8.

2. Connect your client

Route A · Native HTTP (no Node.js)

In Edit › Project Settings › Plugins › EngineWire, tick Enable Native MCP Server (port 3000 by default), then restart the editor. The status bar now reads MCP :3000 (0).
Read the capability token the plugin generated: <YourProject>/Saved/MCP/capability-token. Treat it like a password.

Add the server to your client and send the token in the X-MCP-Capability-Token header. Claude Code:

claude mcp add --transport http unreal-engine http://127.0.0.1:3000/mcp --header "X-MCP-Capability-Token: <token>"

Or in a project .mcp.json (Claude Code), reading the token from an environment variable:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "unreal-engine": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "http://127.0.0.1:3000/mcp",
      "headers": { "X-MCP-Capability-Token": "${UNREAL_MCP_TOKEN}" }
    }
  }
}

Cursor (.cursor/mcp.json) takes the same url and headers without type. VS Code, Windsurf and others: Connecting Clients.

Check it: when the client connects, the count in the status bar goes up.

A client connected straight to /mcp loses its session whenever the editor closes or crashes, and has to reconnect by hand. The package's proxy command sits in between over stdio: while the editor is down every call answers NOT_CONNECTED, and the first call after it is back reaches it, with no reconnect. It keeps the editor's last tool list, so a session that starts before the editor still gets the real tool.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "unreal-engine": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "unreal-engine-mcp-server@beta", "proxy"],
      "env": { "UE_PROJECT_PATH": "C:/Path/To/YourProject" }
    }
  }
}

The token is found the same way as on Route B (MCP_AUTOMATION_CAPABILITY_TOKEN, else the project's token file). UNREAL_MCP_URL points it at another endpoint (default http://127.0.0.1:3000/mcp). Route B survives editor restarts the same way on its own.

Route B · stdio (Node.js 20.19+)

Add this to your client's MCP configuration, for example Claude Desktop's claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "unreal-engine": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "unreal-engine-mcp-server@beta"],
      "env": {
        "UE_PROJECT_PATH": "C:/Path/To/YourProject"
      }
    }
  }
}

UE_PROJECT_PATH (the project folder or its .uproject) is how the server finds the capability token and the plugin's port, so nothing else needs setting. Keep the @beta tag: without it, npm installs 0.5.30, which doesn't match a 0.6 plugin.

3. Try it

With the editor open, ask your assistant to "list the actors in the current level", "spawn a point light 300 units above the origin", or "take a screenshot of the viewport". If it doesn't connect, see Troubleshooting.

The `unreal` tool

Both routes expose exactly one MCP tool, unreal, with four operations. Only the contract the model is about to use gets loaded, instead of hundreds of tool schemas:

Operation	What it does
`search`	Finds capabilities from 2-4 plain words, such as `spawn actor` or `save level`. Every row carries a ready-to-send `nextCall`.
`describe`	Returns one capability's exact contract: parameters, schemas, an example, and the consent grant when one is needed
`execute`	Runs one capability with validated parameters and returns the data plus a receipt of what changed
`configure`	Enables or disables groups of internal tools; never touches the editor
A typical exchange:

{ "operation": "search", "query": "spawn actor" }

{ "operation": "describe", "tool": "control_actor", "action": "spawn" }

{
  "operation": "execute",
  "tool": "control_actor",
  "action": "spawn",
  "params": { "classPath": "/Script/Engine.PointLight", "actorName": "KeyLight", "location": [0, 0, 300] }
}

Parameters are strict. An undeclared name is refused with UNDECLARED_PARAMETER and the list of allowed names; every error carries an executable nextCall.
Deletes need consent. 62 capabilities (all destructive ones, plus some writes) only run with the consentGrant from describe, passed back as a top-level consent field.
Names. Both routes accept the tool + action pair; the stdio route also accepts a capability id, such as "capability": "control_actor.spawn".

Full reference with real replies: Using the Gateway.

Migrating from direct tool calls

The single unreal tool is permanent on both routes; there is no opt-out and no 23-tool listing to restore. A client that still calls a canonical tool name directly (tools/call with name: "manage_asset", name: "control_actor", …) receives a bounded, copy-paste-executable DIRECT_TOOL_CALL_REMOVED receipt instead of a routed call. Its nextCall drills exactly one level: { "operation": "search" } for an unknown name, { "operation": "describe", "tool": "<tool>" } when no action was given, or { "operation": "execute", "tool": "<tool>", "action": "<action>", "params": { ... } } when the call already named an action. Run that nextCall through unreal to finish the migration. See Upgrading.

Protocol versions

Both routes negotiate the MCP protocol version at initialize. The native /mcp transport supports 2025-11-25 (latest), 2025-06-18 and 2025-03-26; the stdio server also accepts the legacy 2024-11-05 and 2024-10-07. An unsupported MCP-Protocol-Version header on the native route gets HTTP 400. Both also answer server/discover without a session, listing those versions, so a client on the newer 2026-07-28 revision falls back to initialize. Details: docs/protocol.md.

These route requests inside the gateway; clients never list them. More in the Tools Reference.

Category	Tool	Covers
Core	`manage_asset`	Assets and folders, materials and material graphs, textures and render targets, data tables, structs, enums, source control
Core	`manage_blueprint`	Blueprints, components, variables, event graphs, UMG widgets, layout, bindings, widget animations
Core	`control_actor`	Spawning, transforms, attachment, components, materials, tags, placement audits
Core	`control_editor`	Play-In-Editor, synthetic input, screenshots, viewport camera, undo, editor preferences
Core	`manage_level`	Create, load, save, stream, import and export levels; world settings; lighting builds
Core	`system_control`	Console commands, logs, project settings, profiling, builds and packaging, tests, Python
Core	`inspect`	Read and write any UObject's properties, components and class info
Core	`manage_tools`	Which internal tools are enabled (through `configure`)
World	`build_environment`	Landscapes, foliage, lights and sky, water, weather, splines, procedural terrain
World	`manage_level_structure`	Sublevels, World Partition, streaming, data layers, HLOD, volumes
World	`manage_geometry`	Geometry Script meshes: booleans, deformers, UVs, collision, LODs, polygon cages, subdivision surfaces, material ids, vertex-color masks
World	`manage_pcg`	PCG graphs: create, add and connect nodes, execute
Gameplay	`animation_physics`	Animation Blueprints, blend spaces, montages, skeletons, Control Rig and IK, ragdolls, cloth, vehicles
Gameplay	`manage_character`	Character Blueprints, movement, MetaHuman
Gameplay

Configuration

Most setups touch one setting: Enable Native MCP Server for Route A, or UE_PROJECT_PATH for Route B. Everything is listed on the Configuration page.

Plugin settings (Project Settings › Plugins › EngineWire, saved in Config/DefaultGame.ini):

Setting	Default
Enable Native MCP Server	off	Serve MCP over HTTP at `/mcp`
Native MCP Port	`3000`	The `MCP_NATIVE_PORT` environment variable of the editor process overrides it
Listen Ports	`8090,8091`	WebSocket ports for Route B
Require Capability Token	on	Both routes refuse clients without the token
Allow Non Loopback	off	LAN access for both listeners. See Security.

Environment variables (Route B only, in the client's env block):

Variable	Default
`UE_PROJECT_PATH`	unset	Project folder or `.uproject`; used to find the token and the port
`MCP_AUTOMATION_PORT`	the project's first Listen Ports entry, else `8090`	Editor WebSocket port
`MCP_AUTOMATION_HOST`	`127.0.0.1`	A LAN address also needs `MCP_AUTOMATION_ALLOW_NON_LOOPBACK=true`
`MCP_AUTOMATION_CAPABILITY_TOKEN`	read from the token file	Token to present, when the server can't read the project folder
`MCP_ADDITIONAL_PATH_PREFIXES`	empty	Extra content roots such as `/MyPluginContent/`, comma-separated; most content-path arguments also accept the mounts the connected editor reports, so this is needed only with no editor connected, for a mount the editor does not report or the server ignores, and for arguments the server treats as files (`filePath`, `outputPath` and a few others), even where `outputPath` names an asset
`LOG_LEVEL`	`info`	`debug`, `info`, `warn` or `error`; logs go to stderr

Security

Local by default. Both routes listen on 127.0.0.1 only. LAN access needs Allow Non Loopback, and the native server refuses to bind off-loopback unless Require Capability Token is on.
Capability token. Generated per project at <Project>/Saved/MCP/capability-token (a value typed into Capability Token overrides it) and compared in constant time. Delete the file and restart the editor to rotate it.
Consent for destructive work. Deletes and some other writes need a per-call consent grant, which the plugin checks itself.
Guard rails. Asset paths are limited to /Game, /Engine, /Script, /Temp, /Niagara plus configured prefixes, and a content path may also sit under a mount the connected editor reports; arguments the server treats as files (such as filePath, and outputPath even where it names an asset) never use the reported mounts; console commands that chain or quit the editor are blocked; the plugin's own settings are out of reach of automation.

Details: Security. Please report vulnerabilities privately through GitHub security advisories.

Engine plugins

The bridge declares its engine-plugin dependencies, so Unreal enables them together with it.

Plugin	Used for
Python Editor Script Plugin	Python-backed editor automation, `system_control` Python execution
Editor Scripting Utilities	Asset and actor subsystem operations
Niagara	Visual effects
Gameplay Abilities	`manage_gas`
Smart Objects	AI smart objects

Plugin	Used for
Level Sequence Editor, Takes, Movie Render Pipeline, Movie Pipeline Mask Render Pass, Electra Player	`manage_sequence`: Sequencer, Take Recorder, Movie Render Queue, media playback
Control Rig, RigVM, IK Rig, Animation Data	`animation_physics`: Control Rig and IK
Chaos Vehicles, Chaos Cloth	`animation_physics`: vehicles and cloth
Niagara Editor	`manage_effect`: Niagara authoring
Behavior Tree Editor, Environment Query Editor, StateTree, Mass Gameplay	`manage_ai`
Geometry Scripting, Geometry Processing, Mesh Modeling Toolset, Procedural Mesh Component	`manage_geometry` (Catmull-Clark, Loop and bilinear subdivision need Mesh Modeling Toolset)
PCG	`manage_pcg`, compiled in only when the project itself enables the PCG plugin
MetaSound, Synthesis	`manage_audio`: MetaSound authoring
Enhanced Input, Online Subsystem, Online Subsystem Utils	`manage_networking`: input mappings, sessions
Interchange, Interchange OpenUSD, Data Validation, StructUtils	Import/export, validation, struct helpers
Fab, Bridge	Fab asset library access (optional `EngineWireFab` module)

The plugin targets every Unreal Engine minor from 5.0 to 5.8. If it fails to build on yours, please open an issue with the build log.

Docker

The image runs the stdio server. It has to reach the editor's WebSocket on 127.0.0.1, so use host networking (Linux), and pass the token because the container can't read your project folder:

docker build -t unreal-mcp .
docker run -i --rm --network host -e MCP_AUTOMATION_CAPABILITY_TOKEN=<token> unreal-mcp

Use -i without -t: a TTY corrupts the MCP stream on stdout.

Documentation


📖 Wiki	Quick Start, Installation, Connecting Clients, Using the Gateway, Configuration, Security, Troubleshooting, FAQ, Upgrading
📋 Action Reference	Every capability with its effect, scope and consent, generated from the capability records
🔌 Gateway client guide	The gateway contract, with the source file behind each claim
📡 Protocol	Transports, version negotiation, cancellation
🔐 Security and receipts	Scopes, consent, path gating, idempotency, refusal codes
🧪 Testing guide	Test suites and how to add cases
🧩 Extending the plugin	Adding an editor action: record, handler, route and tests, plus the rules for plugin code
🗺️ Roadmap	Development roadmap
📝 Changelog	What changed in each release

Development

npm install
npm run build              # clean + compile TypeScript to dist/
npm run dev                # run from source with ts-node
npm run lint               # ESLint (CI fails on any warning)
npm run type-check         # tsc --noEmit, sources and tests
npm run test:unit          # Vitest unit tests (no Unreal required)
npm run test:smoke         # offline mock-mode MCP check (needs built dist/)
npm run test:params        # strict parameter audit
npm run registry:generate  # capability records -> generated contracts, native shards, action reference
npm run registry:check     # fail if generated artifacts drift
npm run manifest:check     # fail if the gateway manifest drifts
npm run eval:check         # search-ranking corpus
npm run version:check      # all version sources agree
npm test                   # integration suite (needs a live Unreal Editor + bridge)

The capability records in src/tools/catalog/capabilities/records/ are the single source of truth; every *.generated.* file, the plugin's MCP/Generated/ shards and the action reference are generated from them. Never hand-edit generated files. How to add a capability: Development.

CI runs, in order: ESLint (npx eslint . --max-warnings=0), type-check, unit tests, registry:check, manifest:check, headers:check, the strict parameter audit (test:params) and eval:check, then a blocking runtime dependency audit (npm audit --omit=dev --audit-level=moderate) and an informational full-tree audit. A Node 20.19 / 26 matrix adds build and test:smoke. Plugin packaging runs only when an Unreal Engine root is configured, because CI runners don't ship an engine. Release archives exclude Binaries/, Intermediate/ and Saved/.

Community


💬 Discussions	Questions, ideas, show and tell
🐞 Issues	Bug reports and feature requests
🗺️ Project board	Roadmap progress and priorities

Contributing: keep pull requests small and focused, with a Conventional Commits title; include reproduction steps for bugs; follow the existing code style. See CONTRIBUTING.md.

License

MIT. See LICENSE.

Unreal Engine

Add this server

Host a copy with our keys and logs.

Server facts

Tools

Questions

How do I install Unreal Engine?

Does Unreal Engine need an API key?

What transport does Unreal Engine use?

When was Unreal Engine last checked?

Documentation

What it does

How it works

Quick start

1. Add the plugin

2. Connect your client

3. Try it

The `unreal` tool

Migrating from direct tool calls

Protocol versions

Configuration

Security

Engine plugins

Docker

Documentation

Development

Community

License

Add this server

Host a copy with our keys and logs.

Server facts

Tools

Questions

How do I install Unreal Engine?

Does Unreal Engine need an API key?

What transport does Unreal Engine use?

When was Unreal Engine last checked?

Documentation

What it does

How it works

Quick start

1. Add the plugin

2. Connect your client

3. Try it

The unreal tool

Migrating from direct tool calls

Protocol versions

Configuration

Security

Engine plugins

Docker

Documentation

Development

Community

License

The `unreal` tool