UnrealEngineUWP/Engine/Documentation/Source/Programming/Development/BuildingUnrealEngine/BuildingUnrealEngine.INT.udn

Availability:Public
Title:Building Unreal Engine from Source
Crumbs: %ROOT%, Programming, Programming/Development
Description:Compiling Unreal Engine from source.
Prereq: GettingStarted/DownloadingUnrealEngine
Related: GettingStarted
Related: Engine/Content/QuickStart
Related: Programming/QuickStart
Related: Engine/QuickStart
Related: Programming/BuildTools
Version: 4.11
SkillLevel: Advanced
topic-image:topic_buildingUE.png
tags:Programming
tags:Unreal Build System

[TOC (start:2 end:3)]

## Building Unreal Engine from Source

[EXCERPT:Main]
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## Running the Editor

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## Getting Started with Unreal Engine

Learn how to use Unreal Engine by referring to the [](GettingStarted) documentation!

If you're looking to quickly get started with UE4, refer to the following tutorials:
*	[](Engine/Content/QuickStart)
*	[](Programming/QuickStart)
*	[](Engine/QuickStart)


[REGION:note]
UE4's in-editor help features are a great way to get your questions answered.
[/REGION]

[/EXCERPT:Main]

[COMMENT:none]

[EXCERPT:windowscompile]

Make sure that Microsoft Visual Studio 2015 is installed prior to building Unreal Engine from source. Also, depending on your system's specifications, it may take between 10 and 40 minutes to compile the engine.

1.	Inside the root directory, run **GenerateProjectFiles.bat** to set-up your project files.

	[REGION:warning]
	All project files are intermediate (`[UE4Root]\Engine\Intermediate\ProjectFiles`). You must generate project files each time you sync a new build to ensure they are up to date. If you delete your `Intermediate` folder, you must regenerate project files using the 'GenerateProjectFiles' batch file.
	[/REGION]

1.	Load the project into Visual Studio by **Double-clicking UE4.sln**.

1.	Set your solution configuration to **Development Editor**.

	![](configMenu_updated.png)

1.	Set your solution platform to **Win64**.

	![](platform_menu_updated.png)

1.	**Right-click** the UE4 target and select **Build**.

	![](BuildUE4.png)

[/EXCERPT:windowscompile]

[EXCERPT:maccompile]

Make sure that the latest version of XCode is installed prior to building Unreal Engine from Source. Also, depending on your system's specifications, it may take between 10 and 40 minutes to compile the engine.
		
1.	Inside the root directory, run **GenerateProjectFiles.command** to set-up your project files.
		
1.	Load the project into XCode by **Double-clicking UE4.xcodeproj**.

1.	To set your build target, select **UE4Editor - Mac** for **My Mac** in the title bar.

	![](SettingMacTarget.png)

1.	To build the project, select **Product > Build**.

	![](BuildingMacEditor.png)
	
[/EXCERPT:maccompile]

[EXCERPT:linuxcompile]

Our development and support teams currently use the latest version of Ubuntu; as a result, we may not be able to provide support for other Linux distributions (including other versions of Ubuntu). Additionally, please make sure your system has at least ten (10) gigabytes of disk space before performing 
the following steps.

1.  Inside the root directory, run **Setup.sh** from the terminal to setup the files needed to generate the project files.

	![](RunSetupShellScript_Linux.png)

1.	Now, run **GenerateProjectFiles.sh** from the terminal to generate your project files. 

	![](RunGenPrjFilesShellScript_Linux.png)

1.	To build the project, run **make** from the terminal.

	![](RunMakeFile_Linux.png)

Depending on your system's specifications, it may take anywhere from ten minutes to over an hour to compile the engine. If you want to shorten the time it takes to compile the engine from source, we recommend compiling 
the source code on a machine that has at least eight (8) gigabytes of RAM with a multi-core processor having at least eight (8) cores (including hyperthreading).

[/EXCERPT:linuxcompile]

[EXCERPT:windowsrun]

1.	Set your startup project to **UE4**.

	![](SetUE4_StartPrj.png)

1.	**Right-click** the **UE4** project, **hover over 'Debug'** and **click 'Start New Instance'** to launch the editor.

	![](RunCompiledWindowsEditor.png)

	[REGION:tip]
	Alternatively, you can **press the F5 key** on your keyboard to start a new instance of the editor.
	[/REGION]

1.	Congratulations! You've compiled and launched the engine from source.

	![](CompiledEditor_Windows.png)

[/EXCERPT:windowsrun]

[EXCERPT:macrun]
		
1.	Select **Product > Run** to launch the editor.
		
	![](RunningMacEditor.png)

1.	Congratulations! You've compiled and launched the engine from source.

	![](CompiledEditor_Mac.png)
[/EXCERPT:macrun]

[EXCERPT:linuxrun]

[REGION:note]		
If you're unable to create an OpenGL context as you're working through these steps, you may need to update your graphics drivers (refer to our documentation on [](Platforms/Linux/BeginnerLinuxDeveloper/SupportedGfxDrivers)).
[/REGION]

1.	Navigate to the editor's binary path by entering `cd Engine/Binaries/Linux/` into the terminal.

1.	Run **UE4Editor** to launch the editor.

	![](RunUE4Editor_Linux.png)

1.	Congratulations! You've compiled and launched the engine from source.

	![](CompiledEditor_Linux.png)
[/EXCERPT:linuxrun]

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