UEPackageManager User Guide

Complete product user guide for UEPackageManager

UEPackageManager

A general-purpose Unreal Engine project packaging tool. It provides GUI and command-line modes, invokes Unreal Automation Tool to perform Build, Cook, Stage, Pak, and Archive, and deploys specified files or folders into the package after packaging succeeds.

Download and Run

Download UEPackageManager.exe from Releases.

Double-click the EXE without arguments to hide the console and open the GUI.
Run a subcommand in a terminal to retain the console and CLI output.
Place the EXE in the project root containing .uproject and double-click it. The project and associated engine are detected automatically and cannot be selected or changed in the GUI.
Launching from a terminal in the project root also detects them automatically. If the EXE is elsewhere, the GUI refuses to package and tells you the correct location.
The current EXE does not have commercial code signing. Windows may show a SmartScreen prompt on first launch. Use the SHA-256 file included with the Release to check download integrity.

Graphical Interface

Feature	Purpose	Notes
Project	Automatically reads `.uproject` beside the EXE or in the current working directory	Read-only in the GUI to prevent switching to another project
UE directory	Automatically detected from `EngineAssociation`	Read-only in the GUI; source-built engines can be configured through the CLI
Output directory	Select the Archive output location	The project root cannot be used directly
Build configuration	`DebugGame`, `Development`, `Test`, or `Shipping`	Shipping additionally enables compression
Clean old package	Remove recognized old packages from the current output path before packaging	The checkbox is saved with the project configuration; each actual cleanup still requires confirmation
Additional files	Copy files or folders after success	Each rule can specify a destination subdirectory inside the package and recursive ignore patterns

Additional copying runs only after UE packaging succeeds. Directory copying skips .trash, .svn, .git, .codex, .agents, .vs, .idea, __pycache__, and .pyc, and checks file integrity afterward. Each rule also supports semicolon-separated name patterns to recursively ignore files or folders at any level, with * and ? wildcards, for example README*.md; Cache. The destination must be a relative directory inside the package root; absolute paths, drive letters, and .. are prohibited. Recursive ignore entries accept name patterns only and cannot contain paths.

Isolated Project Configuration

Each .uproject gets an independent project ID based on its normalized absolute path:

%LOCALAPPDATA%/UEPackageManager/Projects/<ProjectID>/config.json

Project paths, engine directories, output directories, build configurations, and additional copy rules are not reused across projects. The GUI does not read a “recent project”; it binds only to the project associated with the current EXE or working directory. If the CLI cannot identify the project from the current directory, explicitly pass --project-root.

CLI

UEPackageManager.exe --version
UEPackageManager.exe config-show --project-root E:\Projects\MyGame
UEPackageManager.exe configure --project-root E:\Projects\MyGame --configuration Shipping --output E:\Builds\MyGame
UEPackageManager.exe copy-list --project-root E:\Projects\MyGame
UEPackageManager.exe copy-add --project-root E:\Projects\MyGame --source E:\Assets\Data --target-directory . --ignore README*.md --ignore Cache
UEPackageManager.exe copy-remove --project-root E:\Projects\MyGame --index 0
UEPackageManager.exe validate --project-root E:\Projects\MyGame
UEPackageManager.exe package --project-root E:\Projects\MyGame --dry-run
UEPackageManager.exe package --project-root E:\Projects\MyGame

When running in the project root, --project-root can be omitted. --dry-run prints the UAT command without starting packaging; --no-copy skips additional file deployment; --clean-output cleans only recognized old packages in the current output path before this packaging run. Changing the output path does not clean the previous location. Commands return 0 on success and 2 for argument, configuration, or execution errors.

Running from Source

conda env create -f environment.yml
conda activate UEPackageManager
cd /d E:\Projects\MyGame
python E:\Tools\UEPackageManager\Main.py
python E:\Tools\UEPackageManager\Main.py validate --project-root E:\Projects\MyGame

On Windows, you can also double-click Run.bat to launch the GUI or use CLI.bat to run commands.

Building a Single-File EXE

Build.bat

The build reads only UEPackageManager.spec and produces dist/UEPackageManager.exe. This EXE retains the CLI console and automatically hides it in GUI mode with no arguments.

Current Scope

Supports packaging Win64 projects on Windows.
Supports DebugGame, Development, Test, and Shipping; full Debug, which usually requires a source-built engine, is not provided.
Supports Epic Launcher engines and manually specified source-built engines.
Does not package standalone plugins; use the corresponding plugin packaging tool for plugin releases.
Does not automatically close Unreal Editor, delete projects or output directories, or perform Git, SVN, or Perforce operations.

License

MIT License