Summary
The launcher shows “Fab UE Plugin (UE 5.8) — Completed” and “Quixel Bridge (UE 5.8) — Completed,” but neither is actually installed. Neither appears in Edit > Plugins, Window > Get Content, or next to “+Add” in the Content Browser. I traced this down to their manifest files never being created on disk.
What happened:
I installed Fab UE Plugin on 6/23/2026. Later I uninstalled and reinstalled Unreal Engine 5.8, then emptied my Recycling Bin. Since then, Fab has been completely missing. Searching “fab” in Edit > Plugins only shows the unrelated “PlayFab Party.”
What I found:
- The
.itemfiles inC:\ProgramData\Epic\EpicGamesLauncher\Data\Manifestsfor Fab UE Plugin and Quixel Bridge both reference aCompleteManifestPathpointing to a.manifestfile insideC:\Program Files\Epic Games\UE_5.8\.egstore\. - That
.egstorefolder only contains one manifest file — the one belonging to the base Unreal Engine install itself. No manifest file exists for either plugin, despite both showing as “Installed”/“Completed” in the launcher. - Confirmed no “Fab” or “Marketplace” folder exists anywhere in
C:\Program Files\Epic Games\UE_5.8\Engine\Plugins\.
What I’ve tried:
- Clicking “Install to Engine” for Fab UE Plugin multiple times — no progress, no error, no change.
- Deleted the local
.itemmanifest files inC:\ProgramData\Epic\EpicGamesLauncher\Data\Manifeststo force a re-scan — launcher rebuilt fine, but status still showed “Completed.” - Used “Remove” via Library > Installed Plugins for both Fab UE Plugin and Quixel Bridge — this triggered a real uninstall attempt for the first time, which failed with error code IS-EO-Plat-NoFnd-Win-2.
- Fully uninstalled and did a clean reinstall of Unreal Engine 5.8 itself (engine reinstalled successfully, ~30GB, with its own valid manifest generated correctly). Fab UE Plugin and Quixel Bridge were queued to install alongside it and again show as “Installed,” but still have no manifest file in
.egstore. - Confirmed engine and projects load fine, so this is isolated to Fab/Quixel specifically, not the engine itself.
Expected Result
Fab UE Plugin and Quixel Bridge should fully install, generate their manifest files in .egstore, and appear functional in the editor.
Observed Result
Both plugins remain marked “Installed”/“Completed” in the launcher with no manifest file ever generated for either, even after a complete fresh engine reinstall. Removal attempts fail with error IS-EO-Plat-NoFnd-Win-2. Neither plugin appears anywhere inside Unreal Engine 5.8.