How to Manually build plugin for android and IOS platform ?

Development Programming & Scripting C++
1

I have one plugin with source code which works on android and IOS in Unreal Engine 4.14 , now I update the Unreal engine to 4.15, but the plugin does not work for 4.15.
How can I build the plugin Manually that can work on Unreal Engine 4.15 in both Android and IOS platform ?

2

Try the following (the runuat batch/shell script is in UE_4.15/Engine/Build/BatchFiles):


runuat BuildPlugin -plugin="<path/to/yourplugin.uplugin>" -targetplatforms=Android+IOS -package="<output path>" -rocket

Then copy the output into your Engine/Plugins folder, or have it output there directly.

Note that for iOS build you need to be on a Mac.

1 Like
3

Sorry for bumping this after so many years… but I have a couple of questions:

  • Why the -rocket parameter? I tried with and without it on UE 5.1.1, and could not notice any difference (at least in the log output…)

  • I can build a plugin for Windows, and see the DLL inside Binaries\Win64\, but when building the same plugin for Android, I found ELF files only inside Intermediate\Build\Android\UnrealGame\Development\[plugin name]\ anad Intermediate\Build\Android\UnrealGame\Shipping\[plugin name]\. Is that normal/expected? I tried to run the project this way, but the plugin could not be found…

4

Open the plugin’s source code in your preferred IDE or text editor.

Change the Unreal Engine version in the plugin’s *.uplugin file to 4.15.

 {
     "FileVersion": 3,
     "Version": "1.0",
     "FriendlyName": "ACoolPlugin",
     "Description": "A Cool Plugin Description",
     "Category": "ACoolCategory",
     "CreatedBy": "ACoolName",
     "CreatedByURL": "http://www.aCoolURL.com",
     "EngineVersion": "4.15",  // Change this line to "your version of Unreal"
     "Plugins": []
 }

Make any necessary changes to the plugin’s source code to ensure compatibility with Unreal Engine 4.15.

Generate project files for your plugin by running the following command in the Command Prompt:

cd <PathToYourPlugin>
<UnrealEngineRoot>/Engine/Build/BatchFiles/GenerateProjectFiles.bat -project=<PathToYourUnrealProject> -plugin=<PathToYourPlugin>

Replace PathToYourPlugin with the path to your plugin’s source code and PathToYourUnrealProject with the path to your Unreal project.

Build your plugin by opening the generated project file in your IDE or text editor and building the plugin’s solution or project.

Copy the built plugin’s binaries to your Unreal project’s Plugins folder.

Compile your Unreal project for the desired platform (Android or iOS) to ensure the plugin is included in the final build

and here you have your cool plugin :eyes:

5

Thanks for replying!

I was trying to build an UE plugin to add it to a Blueprint project, and I guess that was the main issue.

After banging my head on the wall a few days, I made a breakthrough! :slight_smile:

Instead of adding the plugin source to a BP project, I created a blank C++ project to build the plugin (“as usual”, via Visual Studio) and move the plugin folder to the BP project.

I hope this helps anybody else with issues trying to do the same.