I’m trying to package my iOS game project in Unreal Engine 5.4 using a remote Mac build server (via SSH). The build step completes successfully, but the process fails during the cook stage with the error:
AutomationTool exiting with ExitCode=25 (Error_UnknownCookFailure)
The log doesn’t clearly indicate the root cause, even though all assets and plugins appear to load correctly. Here’s a summary of my setup:
UE Version: 5.4 (Windows host)
Remote Mac: Xcode 16.3
Target: iOS SDK 18 (Shipping config, Distribution enabled)
Plugin used: BlueprintHttp (marked with PrecompileForTargets = PrecompileTargetsType.Any in its Build.cs)
I also noticed this message in logs:
Missing precompiled manifest for 'BlueprintHttp'
Despite setting PrecompileForTargets in the module, the issue persists.
Questions:
What can cause Error_UnknownCookFailure during the cook step if the build finishes fine?
Is there a way to properly include the BlueprintHttp plugin for iOS shipping builds?
Are there known limitations in UE 5.4 regarding Xcode 16 or iOS 18 SDK support?
Thanks in advance for any suggestions or pointers! Log.txt (53.8 KB)
This is quite a tricky scenario you are encountering. After checking your log, no clear cultrip is present for Error_UnknownCookFailure. The most likely cause is a conflict with either plugin BlueprintHttp, or your xcode 16 setup. Let’s cover the following:
Ensure the plugin is being called from your .uproject file
SupportedTargetPlatforms": [“IOS”] should be set at BlueprintHttp.uplugin
If the plugin is properly compiled, check your Binaries folder for its related file
UE 5.4 support is limited to Xcode 15.x and iOS 17.x SDK at the moment, consider downgrading for your test
Finally, there’s an extended log available, as seen here:
Cook failed.
(see C:\Users\User\AppData\Roaming\Unreal Engine\AutomationTool\Logs\C+Program+Files+Epic+Games+UE_5.4\Log.txt for full exception trace)
Please share the contents of that log here, as we can find a more specific error.
Thank you for providing a new log. Yet, the issue remains the same, there’s no specific error present in this new entry. Progress has been made, knowing that BlueprintHttp is correctly listed. As for Binaries check, it was simply meant to confirm that the file related to BlueprintHttp plugin is present there.
Now, considering that iOS 18 SDK and Xcode 16, means that the next step for testing here would be to update UE to 5.5, or even the recently released 5.6, as they will support these software versions properly.
And as our previous post, your new log also contains an extended trace:
Cook failed.
(see C:\Users\User\AppData\Roaming\Unreal Engine\AutomationTool\Logs\C+Program+Files+Epic+Games+UE_5.4\Log.txt for full exception trace)
Please send the contents of this particular file (not the regular log), as we may still find a concrete error there.
I’ve followed your instructions and upgraded my project from Unreal Engine 5.4 to 5.6.
To isolate the issue, I’ve removed all custom and Marketplace plugins from the project. My goal is simply to test remote packaging for iOS using a clean setup.
In addition, I’ve downgraded Xcode to version 16.1 to make sure it stays within a more stable compatibility range. However, the same error still persists.
You can find the latest log here: C:\Users\User\AppData\Roaming\Unreal Engine\AutomationTool\Logs\C+Program+Files+Epic+Games+UE_5.6\Log.txt
(I’ve attached the full log file as well.) Log.txt (129.5 KB)
Here is a screenshot showing the error during packaging:
Thank you for the follow-up. So now, updating UE, and going for a more stable xCode, as yet to yield results. Let’s s try a simple fix, since the updates may have left unused or corrupted data. Test by closing UE, going to your project directory, then deleting Saved and Intermediate folders, and re-open the project to re-generate those files.
If the issue persists after that, we will need the resulting cook trace, as seen in your screenshot:
Thank you for your response. I’ve already tried deleting the Saved and Intermediate folders and regenerating the project files, but unfortunately the issue still persists.
I also tested with a completely clean project using Unreal Engine 5.6, and the same error occurs. I even opened the project in Visual Studio to check for any compile-time errors, but nothing obvious showed up.
Additionally, I’ve updated Unreal Engine to the latest available 5.6 version before performing these tests.
I’ve attached the cook log file for your reference — please take a look and let me know if you notice anything unusual.
Thank you for the update. Checking through the cook log, we now have something concrete:
Message dialog closed, result: Ok, title: Message, text: The game module ‘TestBuild’ could not be found. Please ensure that this module exists and that it is compiled.
This line indicates that your game module is either missing, or not compiled into the project. Since you have already cleared the cache by deleting Saved and Intermediate folders, the next step would be to ensure that module is working as intended.
In order to do this, close UE, go to D:/Nha/Project/UnrealEngine/TestBuild/ and locate your .uproject file. From there, right click on it and select “Generate Visual Studio project files”. After that process is completed, rebuild your project from your .sln file, opening it, and choosing “Build Solution”.
Thanks for the reply. I actually had the same thought and tried this approach multiple times in different ways, but unfortunately, the issue still persists. I’ve carefully read through every line of the log files but couldn’t find any clear error or suspicious point.
I also tested across several Unreal Engine versions from 5.4 to 5.6, but I continue to get the same failure.
At this point, I’m starting to wonder if the problem is not with the project itself, but possibly a conflict with a default plugin — or maybe UE still has issues using Remote Build with iOS 18.1 and Xcode 16.1.
I also noticed this message in logs:
Questions:
