unreal-packaging

Q: How do I install unreal-packaging?

Run npx skills add https://github.com/gamedev-skills/awesome-gamedev-agent-skills --skill unreal-packaging in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/unreal-packaging/ (personal) or .claude/skills/unreal-packaging/ (project).

by gamedev-skillsAI & Agents

Package and ship an Unreal Engine 5 project: the Platforms menu Package Project flow, build configurations (Development vs Shipping), cooking content, packaging settings and the Game Default Map, and command-line builds with RunUAT BuildCookRun. Use when packaging a build, making a shipping build, cooking content, configuring packaging settings, or when the user mentions package Unreal, cook content, shipping build, or BuildCookRun.

Installs: 5.4K
Last 24h: +296
Trending rank: #970
Security: Pass

Install

Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.

npx skills add https://github.com/gamedev-skills/awesome-gamedev-agent-skills --skill unreal-packaging

01
Install
Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.
02
Describe the task
Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads unreal-packaging automatically when relevant.
03
Review the result
The agent follows the SKILL.md steps, scripts and references bundled with the skill.

Security audits

Independent scans of the skill's instructions and bundled files.

Gen Agent Trust Hub PassSAFE ·The skill provides legitimate instructions and command-line examples for packaging and cooking Unreal Engine 5 projects using official engine tools. No security risks were detected.

Socket PassNo alerts

Snyk PassLOW ·Risk: LOW · No issues

SKILL.md

The instructions your agent reads when the skill is triggered.

Unreal Packaging & Cooking

Turn a UE5 project into a runnable, distributable build: choose the right build configuration, cook content, set the launch map, and package — from the editor or the command line. Targets UE 5.8.

When to use

Use when producing a build (test or release), choosing Development vs Shipping, cooking content, configuring Packaging / Maps & Modes settings, or automating builds with RunUAT BuildCookRun for CI.
Use when the project has a *.uproject and Config/Default*.ini, and the goal is a packaged player rather than running in-editor.

When not to use: storefront submission/release process → steam-publish / itch-publish. Editor-time gameplay/iteration is not packaging.

Core workflow

Set the launch map. Project Settings → Maps & Modes → Game Default Map is what a packaged build loads first. Wrong/empty here is the most common "packaged game is black" cause.
Pick the build configuration: Development (default; optimized but keeps logging/ stats/console for testing) vs Shipping (all optimizations, debugging tools stripped — for release). DebugGame/Debug are for debugging engine/game code and aren't for distribution; DebugGame isn't available for Blueprint-only projects.
Understand cook vs package. Cooking converts assets to the target platform's format. Staging/packaging copies the compiled executable + cooked content into a standalone, distributable folder, with content in container files (.pak, plus .utoc/.ucas when Use Io Store is on, which is the default). Packaging runs a cook as part of it.
Package from the editor: the Platforms menu → choose the platform (e.g. Windows) → set the Binary Configuration → Package Project → pick an output folder.
Or build from the command line with the Unreal Automation Tool (RunUAT BuildCookRun) for repeatable/CI builds. The Project Launcher (Platforms → Project Launcher) saves the same build/cook/stage/deploy choices as reusable launch profiles.
Tune Packaging settings (Project Settings → Packaging): which maps/directories to cook, full-rebuild, compression, and whether to build all maps.
Validate assets before packaging when UnrealEditor-Cmd is available. Run UnrealEditor-Cmd <Project>.uproject -run=DataValidation (UnrealEditor-Cmd.exe on Windows) and fix every reported validation error before cooking.
Verify by running the packaged build, not just by a successful cook — launch the executable and confirm it loads the right map and runs.

Patterns

1. Editor packaging (the menu path)

Platforms (toolbar)
  -> Windows
     -> Binary Configuration -> Development | Shipping
     -> Content Management -> Package Project
  -> choose/confirm the staging output folder

2. Command-line build with UAT (CI-friendly)

# Cook + build + stage + pak + archive a Shipping Windows build.
RunUAT BuildCookRun \
  -project="C:/Path/MyGame.uproject" \
  -noP4 -platform=Win64 -clientconfig=Shipping \
  -cook -allmaps -build -stage -pak -archive \
  -archivedirectory="C:/Builds/MyGame"

RunUAT lives in Engine/Build/BatchFiles/ (RunUAT.bat on Windows, RunUAT.sh on macOS/Linux). Drop -allmaps and pass -map=Map1+Map2 to cook a subset. UE 5.8 adds experimental Windows on Arm game builds: -clientarchitecture=arm64 (or arm64+x64 for both executables side by side); the editor itself is not supported on Arm64 in 5.8.

3. Cook only (no packaging), e.g. to refresh content

RunUAT BuildCookRun -project="C:/Path/MyGame.uproject" -noP4 \
  -platform=Win64 -clientconfig=Development -cook -skipstage

Pitfalls

Packaged build loads a black/empty level — Game Default Map isn't set (or that map wasn't cooked). Set it in Maps & Modes and ensure it's included in the cook.
Shipping a Development build — Development keeps logging/console/stats and is slower; ship Shipping. Conversely, Shipping strips UE_LOG/console, so debugging a Shipping-only issue needs Development or Test. A Shipping build has no console quit, so the game needs its own exit option.
A referenced map/asset is missing at runtime — it wasn't cooked. Add it to the Packaging settings' maps/directories to cook, or cook all maps.
Build fails on the platform — the platform SDK/toolchain isn't installed or is too old. For UE 5.8 on Windows that means Visual Studio 2022 17.14+ (2026 recommended), MSVC 14.38+ and Windows SDK 10.0.22621.0+; macOS needs Xcode 15.2+. Check the release notes' Platform SDK table for other targets. Console packaging also requires a source build of the engine, not the Launcher build.
Saved/Cooked/<Platform> has no .uasset/.uexp files — in UE 5.8 Zen Server is the cooked output store by default (unless the project turned it off in Packaging settings). The folder only holds a small ue.projectstore marker and the data lives in the Zen data directory. Staging still writes .pak/.utoc/.ucas to the staging folder; ship that folder, not Saved/Cooked. For team and CI machines Epic recommends LimitProcessLifetime=false under [Zen.AutoLaunch] in DefaultEngine.ini so zenserver is not started and stopped on every step; make sure your build automation tolerates that long-running process.
Expecting Blueprint Nativization — it was removed in UE5; don't rely on it for performance. Profile and move hot logic to C++ (unreal-cpp-gameplay) instead.
First cook is very slow — shaders and all assets cook from scratch; subsequent cooks are incremental. Don't mistake a slow first cook for a hang.

References

Primary docs: "Packaging Your Project" (https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/unreal-engine/packaging-your-project), the Build Configurations / BuildCookRun references, "Zenserver as Cooked Output Store" (https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/unreal-engine/using-zen-storage-server-as-cooked-output-store-for-unreal-engine) and the Platform SDK table in the UE 5.8 release notes (https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/unreal-engine/unreal-engine-5-8-release-notes).

Related skills

steam-publish / itch-publish — distributing the packaged build to a storefront.
unreal-cpp-gameplay — moving hot logic to C++ now that BP nativization is gone.

FAQ

What does the unreal-packaging skill do?

How do I install unreal-packaging?

Run npx skills add https://github.com/gamedev-skills/awesome-gamedev-agent-skills --skill unreal-packaging in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/unreal-packaging/ (personal) or .claude/skills/unreal-packaging/ (project).

Which AI agents can use unreal-packaging?

Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.

Is unreal-packaging safe to install?

Security partners have reviewed it: Gen Agent Trust Hub passed; Socket passed; Snyk passed. As with any skill, read the SKILL.md and bundled scripts before installing.

Who maintains unreal-packaging?

It is published by gamedev-skills in gamedev-skills/awesome-gamedev-agent-skills. It has 5,446 recorded installs.