Source Code

Source Code Branches

There are 3 main branches.

• Release – The most stable branch. Tested by the Epic Games' QA team.

• Promoted – Latest stable features. Used by Epic Games's production teams.

• Master – Unstable branch. Updated live by the Epic Games' developers.

Prerequisites

Windows

Install Visual Studio 2017 or Visual Studio 2019 with the C++ workload.

macOS

Install Xcode 10.x.

Source Code Set up

1. Download the source from GitHub.

2. Run Setup.bat (Windows) or Setup.command (macOS) to download the binary content for the engine and install the prerequisites.

3. Run GenerateProjectFiles.bat (Windows) or GenerateProjectFiles.command (macOS) to create the project files for the engine.

Compilation

Windows

1. Open the UE4.sln solution file in Visual Studio.

2. Select the Development Editor configuration and the Win64 platform.

3. Build the solution (Project → Build).

4. Run the UE4 project to start the Editor (Debug → Start Debugging).

macOS

1. Open the UE4.xcworkspace workspace file in Xcode.

2. Select ShaderCompileWorker for the My Mac target and build (Product → Build).

3. Select UE4 for the My Mac target and build (Product → Build).

4. Run UE4 to start the Editor (Product → Run).

Running the Editor

From a command prompt, navigate to the launcher folder.

Windows

Navigate to the binaries subfolder.

cd [Version]\Engine\Binaries\Win64

To run the editor for a specific project file.

UE4Editor.exe "[Path][Name].uproject"

macOS

Navigate to the binaries subfolder.

cd [Version]\Engine\Binaries\Mac

To run the editor for a specific project file.

open UE4Editor.app --args "[Path]/[Name].uproject"