GitHubCoPilotUNREALEngine

<p align="center"> <img src="https://github.githubassets.com/images/modules/logos_page/GitHub-Mark.png" width="80" /> </p> <h1 align="center">GitHubCopilotUE</h1> <p align="center"> <b>AI coding assistant inside Unreal Engine 5 — powered by GitHub Copilot</b> </p> <p align="center"> <a href="#features">Features</a> • <a href="#requirements">Requirements</a> • <a href="#installation">Installation</a> • <a href="#authentication">Authentication</a> • <a href="#usage">Usage</a> • <a href="#models">Models</a> • <a href="#settings">Settings</a> • <a href="#architecture">Architecture</a> • <a href="#contributing">Contributing</a> • <a href="#license">License</a> </p>

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A native Unreal Engine 5.x C++ editor plugin that brings GitHub Copilot directly into the Unreal Editor. Chat with AI models, read and edit source files, create C++ classes, trigger compiles, analyze your VR/Quest setup — all from a dockable Slate panel without ever leaving the engine.

This is not a mock chat panel. The plugin features a full agentic tool-calling system — the AI can autonomously read files, write code, search your project, create classes, and compile, just like Copilot in VS Code.

✅ Latest Update (Mar 2026)

• Engine-wide deployment flow validated for UE 5.6 + 5.7 (Engine/Plugins/Marketplace/GitHubCopilotUE)
• Shared auth/session behavior across dockable panel + console/REPL
• Unified chat UI with prompt + transcript in one area, plus Enter to send (Shift+Enter newline)
• Visible in-chat working state via Copilot is thinking... animation
• Expanded tool surface (view, glob, rg, file ops, compile/live coding/tests, Blueprint asset creation)
• Tool-loop guard is now configurable (Max Tool-Call Iterations, default 0 = unlimited)
• Blueprint creation now auto-saves to disk (no manual Save All required)

Features

🤖 Agentic AI Assistant

• Tool-calling loop — the AI can chain multiple tool calls (read → analyze → edit → compile) in a single conversation turn
• 19 built-in tools: view, glob, rg, read_file, write_file, edit_file, list_directory, create_directory, copy_file, move_file, search_files, get_project_structure, create_cpp_class, create_blueprint_asset, compile, live_coding_patch, run_automation_tests, get_file_info, delete_file
• Automatic file backups before any write operation
• Safety-enforced write roots — the AI can only modify files within approved directories

💬 Native Editor Panel

• Dockable Slate tab: Window → GitHub Copilot
• Real-time project context (project name, engine version, current map, selected assets/actors)
• VR/Quest/OpenXR readiness summary
• Unified chat window (transcript + prompt composer), with Enter to send and Shift+Enter for newline
• Built-in thinking indicator (Copilot is thinking...) while backend/model work is in flight
• Persistent user handle + running chat transcript (Handle: prompt and Model (returned-id): response)
• 20+ action buttons (Analyze Selection, Generate C++ Class, Preview Patch, Trigger Compile, etc.)
• Diff preview area for code changes
• Execution log

🔧 Editor Integration

• Compile & Live Coding — trigger Hot Reload or Live Coding from the AI panel
• Content Browser awareness — selected assets are included in context
• Level Editor awareness — selected actors are included in context
• Blueprint creation — create and auto-save real Blueprint assets (including Blueprint Function Libraries) directly in /Game/...
• Asset Registry — create folders, refresh state after file changes
• Automation Tests — run tests from the panel

🥽 Meta Quest / XR Support

• Detects OpenXR, MetaXR, OculusXR plugin status
• Scans for VR-relevant actors (MotionController, XROrigin, HMD)
• Android manifest & Quest readiness audit
• Dedicated "Analyze VR Setup" and "Analyze Quest Readiness" commands

🔌 Multi-Model Support

• Works with any model available on your GitHub Copilot subscription
• Claude (Opus, Sonnet, Haiku), GPT-4o, GPT-4.1, o1, o3, Gemini, and more
• Dynamic model catalog fetched from the Copilot API at startup
• Switch models at any time with /model <name>
• Per-model endpoint routing (chat/completions vs. responses)

📟 Console Commands

Use the plugin from the UE console (~ key) without opening the panel:

Copilot <prompt>          Chat with the AI
Copilot /model <name>     Switch active model
Copilot /models           List available models
Copilot /context           Show current project context
Copilot /help              Show all commands

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Requirements

| Requirement | Details | |-------------|---------| | Unreal Engine | 5.3 or later (tested on 5.4 and 5.5) | | Platform | Windows (macOS/Linux should compile but are untested) | | GitHub Copilot | Active subscription — Individual, Business, or Enterprise | | Compiler | Visual Studio 2022 or compatible (for editor module) |

Note: This plugin uses the GitHub Copilot API with OAuth device-flow authentication. You do not need a separate API key or PAT — the plugin handles authentication automatically, the same way VS Code does.

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Installation

Option A: Clone into your project (recommended)

cd "YourProject/Plugins"
git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/GitHubCopilotUE.git

Option B: Download and copy

1. Download the latest release or clone this repo
2. Copy the GitHubCopilotUE folder into your project's Plugins/ directory

YourProject/
├── Content/
├── Source/
├── Plugins/
│   └── GitHubCopilotUE/          ← here
│       ├── GitHubCopilotUE.uplugin
│       ├── Resources/
│       └── Source/
│           ├── GitHubCopilotUE/          (Editor module)
│           └── GitHubCopilotUERuntime/   (Runtime module)
└── YourProject.uproject

Option C: Engine-level plugin

Copy to Engine/Plugins/Marketplace/GitHubCopilotUE/ to make it available across all projects.

For installed engines under C:\Program Files\..., use this flow:

1. Close Unreal Editor
2. Open PowerShell as Administrator
3. Put the plugin in: C:\Program Files\Epic Games\UE_5.7\Engine\Plugins\Marketplace\GitHubCopilotUE
4. If source plugin compilation fails due permissions, prebuild/package it:
   • Run: Engine\Build\BatchFiles\RunUAT.bat BuildPlugin -Plugin="<path>\GitHubCopilotUE.uplugin" -Package="<output-folder>" -TargetPlatforms=Win64
   • Copy the packaged output into Engine\Plugins\Marketplace\GitHubCopilotUE

Why this matters: engine plugins in Program Files may fail to write Binaries/Intermediate without admin rights.

When updating an existing engine install, close all Unreal Editor instances first so DLLs are not locked.

After Installation

1. Open your project in Unreal Editor
2. The plugin will compile automatically on first launch
3. If prompted, click Yes to enable the plugin
4. Go to Window → GitHub Copilot to open the panel

Install Mode Verification (Project vs Engine)

Use this quick check to confirm both install modes behave correctly:

1. Project plugin install
   • Place plugin at YourProject/Plugins/GitHubCopilotUE
   • Open project, verify plugin appears in Edit → Plugins
   • Open Window → GitHub Copilot and verify panel opens
2. Engine-wide install
   • Place plugin at Engine/Plugins/Marketplace/GitHubCopilotUE
   • Open two different projects and verify plugin is available in both
   • In each project, open panel and verify compile/sign-in/model list works
3. Confirm auth cache is project-scoped at YourProject/Saved/CopilotAuth.json
   • This is expected for both install modes

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Authentication

The plugin uses GitHub's OAuth Device Flow — the same method VS Code uses. No tokens to manually create or paste.

First-Time Sign-In

1. Open the Copilot panel (Window → GitHub Copilot)
2. Click Sign In (or use Copilot.Login, /login, or /signin)
3. A dialog will show a device code and open your browser to https://github.com/login/device
4. Enter the code in your browser and authorize
5. The plugin will automatically detect authorization and fetch your Copilot token

How It Works

Plugin                      GitHub
  │                           │
  ├──POST /login/device/code──►  (get device_code + user_code)
  │                           │
  │  ┌── User enters code ────►  (browser at github.com/login/device)
  │  │                        │
  ├──POST /login/oauth/access ►  (poll until authorized)
  │                           │
  ├──GET /user ───────────────►  (get username)
  │                           │
  ├──GET /copilot_internal/v2/token ──►  (exchange for Copilot token)
  │                           │
  ├──GET /models ─────────────►  (fetch available models)
  │                           │
  └── Ready ✓                 │

Token Storage

Tokens are cached locally at:

YourProject/Saved/CopilotAuth.json

This file contains your GitHub access token, active model, and API endpoint. It is not committed to source control (add Saved/ to .gitignore).

Subscription Detection

The plugin automatically detects your subscription tier (Individual, Business, Enterprise) from the token exchange and routes API calls to the correct endpoint:

• Individual → api.individual.githubcopilot.com
• Business → api.business.githubcopilot.com
• Enterprise → api.enterprise.githubcopilot.com

Shared Sign-In Verification (Panel + REPL)

Sign-in state is shared across the dockable panel, Copilot.* console commands, and Output Log Copilot REPL.

Quick test:

1. Sign in from panel (Sign In with GitHub)
2. Run Copilot.Status and confirm it shows authenticated user/model
3. Switch Output Log executor to Copilot, run /context and /model
4. Sign out from REPL (/logout or /signout)
5. Confirm panel updates to signed-out state and model