Drive Unreal Engine 5 with Claude. Nothing to install inside Unreal.
UEMCP is an open source MCP server by ATDev that connects Claude (Claude Code, Claude Desktop, or any MCP client) to a live Unreal Engine 5 editor. Spawn actors, build materials, author Blueprints, manage assets, fly the viewport camera, take screenshots, and run arbitrary editor Python, all from a conversation.
Most Unreal MCP servers ship a C++ plugin you have to copy into your project and compile. UEMCP speaks Unreal's built-in Python remote execution protocol instead: the same multicast discovery and TCP command channel that ships with every copy of the engine. That means:
- Zero install on the Unreal side. No plugin to build, no project files to modify, no engine version matrix to chase.
- Works with vanilla UE 5.0 through 5.7, including Epic Games Launcher builds.
- Structured results, not log scraping. Every tool runs inside an error-capturing harness in the editor and returns clean JSON, with real Python tracebacks when something fails.
- Self-healing connection. Restart the editor mid-session and the next tool call reconnects automatically.
- An escape hatch.
ue_pythongives Claude the fullunrealmodule for anything the 38 dedicated tools do not cover.
New here? The step-by-step getting started guide walks through everything below in detail, including the one gotcha that trips up Windows machines with a VPN.
- Open your project in Unreal Editor.
Edit > Plugins, search for Python Editor Script Plugin, enable it, restart when prompted.Edit > Project Settings, search for Python, check Enable Remote Execution.
That is the entire Unreal-side setup.
With uv installed:
Claude Code
claude mcp add unreal -- uvx uemcpClaude Desktop (claude_desktop_config.json)
{
"mcpServers": {
"unreal": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": ["uemcp"]
}
}
}pip, or from a clone of this repo
pip install uemcp && uemcp
# or
git clone https://github.com/ATDev-Inc/uemcp && cd uemcp && uv run uemcpMore detail, including pinning to one project when several editors are open: docs/setup.md.
"Spawn a point light 300 units up, make it warm orange at 8000 intensity, then screenshot the viewport."
"Find every static mesh asset with 'rock' in the name and scatter 20 of them in a rough circle around the origin."
"Create a BP_Collectible blueprint with a static mesh component and a sphere collision, set its mesh to the gold coin asset."
| Group | Tools |
|---|---|
| Editor | ue_status, ue_python, ue_console_command, ue_project_info |
| Actors | ue_list_actors, ue_spawn_actor, ue_destroy_actor, ue_set_actor_transform, ue_set_actor_property, ue_get_actor, ue_batch_edit |
| Assets | ue_search_assets, ue_asset_info, ue_import_asset, ue_create_folder, ue_duplicate_asset, ue_delete_asset, ue_save_all |
| Asset libraries | ue_asset_providers, ue_search_sketchfab, ue_import_sketchfab |
| AI generation | ue_generate_model, ue_generation_status, ue_import_generated |
| Materials | ue_create_material, ue_create_material_instance, ue_assign_material |
| Blueprints | ue_create_blueprint, ue_add_component, ue_set_blueprint_default |
| Levels | ue_open_level, ue_new_level |
| Viewport | ue_set_camera, ue_get_camera, ue_focus_actor, ue_screenshot |
| Play | ue_play, ue_stop_play |
| Render | ue_render_sequence |
Conventions: project content paths look like /Game/Props/SM_Chair, engine classes like /Script/Engine.PointLight. Distances are centimeters, rotations are [roll, pitch, yaw] in degrees, colors are [r, g, b] in 0..1.
Full parameter and return documentation for every tool: docs/tools.md.
Claude (MCP client)
| stdio (MCP)
v
uemcp server (this package, plain Python)
| UDP multicast 239.0.0.1:6766 -> discovery ping/pong
| TCP command channel -> JSON commands and results
v
Unreal Editor (built-in Python remote execution)
Each tool builds a small Python snippet, wraps it in a harness that catches exceptions, runs it in the editor, and parses a sentinel-prefixed JSON line back out of the log output. The snippet builders are pure functions, so CI compiles every one of them without needing Unreal installed.
UEMCP is infrastructure, not a product: an open MCP server that exposes a live UE5 editor to any MCP client, rather than an embedded in-editor agent with a bundled model. For the tradeoffs against embedded agents (and what we borrow from them), see docs/positioning.md.
Everything works with defaults when the editor and server are on the same machine. Override with environment variables when needed:
| Variable | Default | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
UEMCP_PROJECT |
(first found) | Prefer a specific project when several editors are open |
UEMCP_MULTICAST_GROUP |
239.0.0.1 |
Discovery multicast group |
UEMCP_MULTICAST_PORT |
6766 |
Discovery port |
UEMCP_COMMAND_HOST |
127.0.0.1 |
Host the editor connects back to |
UEMCP_COMMAND_TIMEOUT |
120 |
Per-command timeout in seconds |
UEMCP_DISCOVERY_TIMEOUT |
2 |
Discovery wait in seconds |
UEMCP_DISCOVERY_ATTEMPTS |
3 |
Discovery retries before giving up |
UEMCP_EDITOR_CMD |
(derived) | Path to UnrealEditor-Cmd for headless renders; defaults to the running editor's executable |
uemcp --project MyGame is shorthand for UEMCP_PROJECT=MyGame.
UEMCP executes Python inside your editor process, by design. Treat it like giving Claude the editor's Python console:
- The remote execution protocol has no authentication. Keep the defaults (localhost command channel, multicast TTL 0) unless you fully control the network.
- Tools can modify and delete project content. Use source control on your project. You should be doing that anyway.
- Review what an agent did with
ue_save_allwithheld if you want a manual checkpoint before anything hits disk.
| Doc | What it covers |
|---|---|
| docs/getting-started.md | Friendly end-to-end walkthrough from zero to your first spawned actor |
| docs/setup.md | Detailed Unreal and client setup, multiple editors, remote machines |
| docs/tools.md | Full reference for all 40 tools: parameters, returns, examples |
| docs/architecture.md | The wire protocol, the snippet harness, and how to add a tool |
| docs/troubleshooting.md | Connection problems, firewalls, common tool errors |
| docs/cookbook.md | Prompt recipes: lighting rigs, greyboxing, asset audits |
git clone https://github.com/ATDev-Inc/uemcp
cd uemcp
uv sync
uv run pytest
uv run ruff check .The test suite runs entirely without Unreal: protocol tests talk to a fake editor over real sockets, and every in-editor snippet is compile-checked.
- More asset providers on the existing interface (Sketchfab catalog and Meshy text-to-3D ship today): image-to-3D generation, more generation backends, and Fab/Quixel Megascans
- Sequencer tools (create level sequences, bind actors, render movies)
- Niagara system spawning and parameter control
- Landscape sculpting primitives
- True PIE (play-in-editor) control with input injection
- Asset thumbnails as MCP resources
- Contributing: CONTRIBUTING.md has a contribution ladder from docs fixes up to new tools. If you keep reaching for the same
ue_pythonsnippet, that is a tool waiting to be born, and a working snippet pasted into an issue is 80% of the work. - Bugs: use the issue templates. The in-editor traceback from the tool error is the most useful thing you can include.
- Security: see SECURITY.md. Report vulnerabilities privately, not in public issues.
- Releases: CHANGELOG.md and GitHub releases.
- Conduct: CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md.
MIT. Copyright (c) 2026 ATDev.