Alpha-XP - PluginSmith - Multi-Engine Plugin Builder

Distribution Product Discussion
1

Technical Details
PluginSmith is an Unreal Engine Editor plugin that automates building, validating, and packaging plugins and projects across multiple engine versions (4.27 → 5.6). It integrates with Unreal’s IPluginManager and Unreal Automation Tool (UAT) to produce Fab Marketplace–compliant ZIP packages, complete with validation, logging, and engine-specific compilation. It supports both Blueprint and C++ automation APIs, enabling command-line and in-editor packaging flows..

Features:

  • Automatically builds and packages Unreal Engine plugins for multiple engine versions (4.27 → 5.6).

  • Validates .uplugin metadata, version compatibility, platform lists, and documentation presence before packaging.

  • Generates ready-to-upload Fab ZIP archives with correct folder and naming structure.

  • Creates detailed log files for every build process in Saved/Logs/PluginSmith.log.

  • Supports both Editor and command-line usage for automation pipelines.

  • Cleans intermediate folders and removes non-distributable binaries before packaging.

  • Blueprint and C++ APIs for fully automated builds or custom pipelines.

Code Modules:

PluginSmithEditorCore plugin builder and automation system. Handles validation, packaging, and log management.

Number of Blueprints: 3 (exposed callable Blueprint nodes for build, validation, and logging functions)
Number of C++ Classes: 6 (including FPluginSmithModule, FPluginSmithManager, and UPluginSmithLibrary)
Network Replicated: No

Supported Development Platforms:

PlatformSupported

Windows ✅ Yes

Mac ❌ No

Supported Target Build Platforms:

  • Windows (Win64)

  • Linux (via source build)

  • Mac (via source build – partial support)

Documentation Link:
https://github.com/Alpha-xp5-ai/PluginSmith

Important / Additional Notes:

  • All builds and packaging tasks are engine-version isolated and validated before execution.

  • PluginSmith logs all actions for transparency and debugging.

  • Requires Visual Studio 2022 with “Game Development with C++” components installed.

  • Ideal for developers publishing to Fab or managing multiple plugin versions across UE4 and UE5.

  • Designed and tested on Unreal Engine 4.27, 5.0, 5.2, 5.3, 5.5 and 5.6.