gengineEA
Launch App
Beginner

Install gengine into your Unreal Engine 5.7 project step by step.

Installation

Install gengine into your Unreal Engine 5.7 project. The process takes about 10 minutes: clone the plugin, install Node.js dependencies, build, and verify.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have the following installed and working:

Unreal Engine 5.7 or later

gengine targets the UE 5.7.2 API. Older engine versions are not supported because several editor subsystem APIs used by gengine were added or changed in 5.7. You can check your engine version in Help > About Unreal Editor.

Node.js 18 or later

The MCP Bridge and Web Chat Panel are Node.js applications. Node 18 LTS or any newer version works. Download it from nodejs.org or use a version manager like nvm (Mac/Linux) or fnm (Windows).

node --version
# Should print v18.0.0 or higher

npm --version
# Should print 9.0.0 or higher

Git

gengine uses git submodules for the MCP bridge. Git 2.30 or later is recommended. Verify with git --version.

A C++ project

gengine is a C++ plugin and requires a project that can compile C++. If your project is Blueprint-only, right-click the .uproject file and choose Generate Visual Studio project files, then open the solution in Visual Studio or Rider to build once before installing gengine.

Warning: gengine does not currently support Shipping builds. Always use Development Editor or DebugGame Editor configurations when working with gengine.

Clone the plugin

gengine lives in your project's Plugins/ folder. Navigate to your project root and clone the repository including its submodules:

# Navigate to your project root
cd /path/to/YourProject

# Clone with submodules (mcp-bridge and claude-panel are submodules)
git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/engines-of-creation/gengine Plugins/gengine

If you already cloned without --recurse-submodules, initialize the submodules manually:

cd Plugins/gengine
git submodule update --init --recursive

After cloning, your Plugins directory should look like this:

Plugins/
└── gengine/
    ├── gengine.uplugin
    ├── Source/
    │   ├── Gengine/
    │   ├── GengineChatGateway/
    │   ├── GengineMCPStreamable/
    │   └── GengineAutonomy/
    ├── Resources/
    │   ├── mcp-bridge/       ← git submodule
    │   └── claude-panel/     ← git submodule
    └── Docs/

Install Node.js dependencies

Both the MCP Bridge and the Web Chat Panel have their own Node.js dependencies. Install them separately:

cd Plugins/gengine/Resources/mcp-bridge
npm install

cd Plugins/gengine/Resources/claude-panel
npm install

Tip: You can run both installs in parallel in separate terminals to save time. Each takes 30–60 seconds depending on your internet connection.

After installing, build the MCP bridge bundle. This compiles the TypeScript source into a single JavaScript file that the plugin launches automatically:

cd Plugins/gengine/Resources/mcp-bridge
npm run build

Build the Unreal project

With the plugin files in place, regenerate your project files and build:

Windows (Visual Studio)

# Right-click your .uproject file → "Generate Visual Studio project files"
# Then open the .sln file and build the Development Editor configuration

# Or from the command line:
"C:\Program Files\Epic Games\UE_5.7\Engine\Build\BatchFiles\Build.bat" ^
  YourProjectEditor Win64 Development ^
  "C:\path\to\YourProject\YourProject.uproject"

Mac / Linux (Rider or shell)

/path/to/UE_5.7/Engine/Build/BatchFiles/Mac/Build.sh \
  YourProjectEditor Mac Development \
  /path/to/YourProject/YourProject.uproject

The first build after adding gengine will compile all four plugin modules (Gengine, GengineChatGateway, GengineMCPStreamable, GengineAutonomy). Subsequent builds are incremental and much faster.

Note: Build time on a modern machine is typically 2–4 minutes for the first full compile. If you see errors about missing headers, ensure your engine version is exactly 5.7.x.

Verify the plugin loaded

Launch your project in the Unreal Editor (Development Editor configuration). Once the editor finishes loading, verify gengine is active:

  • Open Window > gengine from the main menu bar. The Command Center panel should appear.
  • The Diagnostics tab inside the Command Center should show green status indicators for "Plugin", "MCP Bridge", and "REST API".
  • Open the Output Log (Window > Output Log) and filter for "gengine". You should see LogGengine: MCP server listening on port 8080.
LogGengine: Display: Gengine plugin loaded
LogGengine: Display: MCP server listening on port 8080
LogGengine: Display: MCP bridge started (PID 12345)
LogGengine: Display: 97 tools registered

Warning: If the MCP bridge fails to start, the most common cause is Node.js not being on the system PATH that the editor uses. On Windows, restart the editor after installing Node.js to pick up the updated PATH. On Mac, add Node.js to /etc/paths or use the full path in your shell profile.

Updating to new versions

gengine follows semantic versioning. To update to the latest release:

cd Plugins/gengine

# Pull the latest changes
git pull origin main

# Update submodules to the versions pinned by the new release
git submodule update --recursive

# Reinstall Node.js dependencies in case they changed
cd Resources/mcp-bridge && npm install && npm run build && cd ../..
cd Resources/claude-panel && npm install && cd ../..

After updating, rebuild the Unreal project. If a minor or patch release only changed the Node.js side, a full C++ rebuild may not be necessary — the Diagnostics tab will indicate if the plugin version matches the bridge version.

Tip: Subscribe to the gengine GitHub releases page to get notified of new versions. Breaking changes are always listed in the release notes under a "Migration" heading.

← PreviousNext →