UE_Tools

Unofficial. This project is not affiliated with, endorsed, or sponsored by Epic Games. Unreal Engine is a trademark of Epic Games, Inc. No Epic logos or endorsement. This package does not redistribute Unreal Engine source.

Cursor plugin + CLI for:

1. Automating a running Unreal Editor via Epic’s Remote Control HTTP API.

2. Optionally searching/reading engine source on GitHub if you already have access (default EpicGames/UnrealEngine, ref release).

Data shape: DOMAIN.md. Marketplace notes: MARKETPLACE.md.

Install from Cursor Marketplace

Once listed: in Cursor, open the Marketplace, search for ue-tools, and install. Then open Plugins → Configure and set:

The Agent Plugins 1.0 plugin.json schema does not allow a variables field (additionalProperties: false). Cursor Marketplace Configure is declared in .cursor-plugin/plugin.json and wired through mcp.json env placeholders. Unexpanded ${VAR} strings are treated as unset. Local installs can keep using process env / .env.example instead.

Until it is listed, install from this repo (local plugin directory after npm install && npm run build).

Related MCP server: UE-MCP

Local install

Open the directory that contains package.json (the repository root), then install and build there:

git clone https://github.com/ABX-apps/UE_Tools.git
cd UE_Tools
npm install
npm run build

From that same root, prefer:

node dist/cli.js --help
npx --prefix . ue-tools --help

package.json name is ue-tools. The bin entries are ue-tools and ue-src (an alias), both ./dist/cli.js.

Do not nest another UE_Tools/ folder inside the clone (…/UE_Tools/UE_Tools/). npx ue-tools resolves the package from the current project. An extra nested folder hides package.json and the bin, so the command 404s. If that happens, cd to the directory that contains package.json and use node dist/cli.js or npx --prefix . ue-tools.

Auth (source search)

Live GitHub calls fail closed unless GITHUB_TOKEN or GH_TOKEN is set. The token must be able to read the configured repo (Epic’s GitHub org for the public default, or repo scope on a private fork). Copy .env.example locally — never commit secrets.

Editor Remote Control

Live Editor calls use fetch against Epic’s Web Remote Control HTTP server. Only those documented HTTP routes are used. If the URL is down or is not Remote Control, commands fail closed with editor_unreachable. A failed call to this process’s loopback does not mean the user’s Editor is down.

Where the request runs

Remote Control is reached from wherever the MCP or CLI process runs (the process host). It is not implied that the agent’s localhost is the user’s Editor.

• Default http://127.0.0.1:30010 works only when the process host and the Editor host are the same machine. That address is the process’s loopback.

• If the process host and the Editor host differ, set UE_REMOTE_CONTROL_URL to an address the process host can route to. On the Editor, bind the HTTP server beyond loopback — [HTTPServer.Listeners] DefaultBindAddress=0.0.0.0 or the machine IP, in project or engine config — and allow TCP 30010 from the process host through the firewall. Do not expose Remote Control to the public internet.

• An SSH local forward or a VPN is a valid general pattern: point UE_REMOTE_CONTROL_URL at the forwarded address. Loopback then means the tunnel you configured, not an Editor discovered by magic.

• If no network path exists, run the ue-tools CLI on the Editor machine itself (a shell on that host). Some agent executors cannot target another machine; the parent agent must run Editor commands on the Editor host.

Setup (any Unreal user)

1. Enable the Remote Control API plugin in your project.

2. In the Editor console, run WebControl.StartServer. The HTTP server listens at http://127.0.0.1:30010 on the Editor host by default.

3. Optional: WebControl.EnableServerOnStartup so the server starts with the Editor.

4. Optional, for editor console / editor highresshot: allow remote console execution in Remote Control settings (bAllowConsoleCommandRemoteExecution).

5. If the process that calls Remote Control is not on the Editor host, set UE_REMOTE_CONTROL_URL as described above.

Other Unreal services (for example Zen) listen on other ports and are not Remote Control. Point UE_REMOTE_CONTROL_URL only at the Web Remote Control HTTP server.

Override UE_OWNER / UE_REPO / UE_REF when searching a private GitHub fork instead of EpicGames/UnrealEngine.

status never prints the GitHub token.

CLI

# Source (GitHub; default EpicGames/UnrealEngine @ release)
ue-tools status
ue-tools search FName
ue-tools search --path Engine/Source/Runtime --extension h FName
ue-tools symbol FName
ue-tools find-class UEngine
ue-tools history Engine/Source/Runtime/Core/Public/CoreMinimal.h
ue-tools file get Engine/Source/Runtime/Core/Public/CoreMinimal.h
ue-tools tree Engine/Source/Runtime
ue-tools modules list

# Editor (Remote Control HTTP reached from this process)
ue-tools editor status
ue-tools editor actors list --name Player --class PlayerStart --limit 20
ue-tools editor select
ue-tools editor object describe /Game/Maps/Map.Map:PersistentLevel.Floor
ue-tools editor object get /Game/Maps/Map.Map:PersistentLevel.Floor RelativeLocation
ue-tools editor object set /Game/Maps/Map.Map:PersistentLevel.Floor bHidden true --confirm
ue-tools editor console "stat fps"
ue-tools editor highresshot
ue-tools editor screenshot

--url overrides UE_REMOTE_CONTROL_URL. --ref overrides UE_REF for file/tree/modules/history.

editor console always includes command, url, via (PUT /remote/object/call on KismetSystemLibrary.ExecuteConsoleCommand), httpStatus when the HTTP response arrived, and raw (the JSON body; result is the same value). ExecuteConsoleCommand has no output parameter, so Remote Control often returns {} or an empty ReturnValue. That is not console stdout. Check the Editor Output Log on the Editor host. HTTP success is not proof that LiveCoding.Compile compiled successfully. Epic’s Remote Control HTTP reference does not document an Output Log route; this package does not scrape one.

editor actors list and editor select call GetAllLevelActors / GetSelectedLevelActors on EditorActorSubsystem first, then EditorLevelLibrary (the object path in Epic’s HTTP reference; the library is deprecated in favor of the subsystem). That reference does not document another actor-list route.

editor screenshot documents a gap: Remote Control has no viewport-capture HTTP route (/remote/object/thumbnail is asset thumbs only). editor highresshot wraps editor console HighResShot and writes a PNG on the Editor host.

editor object set is mutating and requires --confirm (MCP: confirm: true). Default write access is WRITE_TRANSACTION_ACCESS (undoable). Pass --no-transaction for WRITE_ACCESS.

Prove (no GitHub, no Editor)

npm test
npx ue-tools --help
npx ue-tools --fixture search Core
npx ue-tools --fixture search --path Engine/Source/Runtime --extension h Core
npx ue-tools --fixture symbol FName
npx ue-tools --fixture history Engine/Source/Runtime/Core/Public/CoreMinimal.h
npx ue-tools --fixture modules list
npx ue-tools --fixture editor status
npx ue-tools --fixture editor actors list --name Floor
npx ue-tools --fixture editor select
npx ue-tools --fixture editor object describe /Game/Maps/FixtureMap.FixtureMap:PersistentLevel.Floor

Agent plugin layout

• plugin.json — Agent Plugins 1.0 portable manifest (no variables; schema forbids extra fields)

• .cursor-plugin/plugin.json — Cursor Marketplace Configure variables

• mcp.json — stdio MCP (node ${PLUGIN_ROOT}/dist/mcp.js) plus env placeholders

• skills/ue-source/SKILL.md, skills/ue-editor/SKILL.md

Source MCP tools: ue_status, ue_search, ue_symbol, ue_history, ue_file_get, ue_tree, ue_modules_list.

Editor MCP tools: ue_editor_status, ue_editor_actors_list, ue_editor_select, ue_editor_object_describe, ue_editor_object_get, ue_editor_object_set, ue_editor_console, ue_editor_highresshot, ue_editor_screenshot.

The CLI uses Node stdlib + fetch. @modelcontextprotocol/sdk is the MCP server runtime.