Your first project

Create or open a projectCopy Anchor Link

• New project → On this computer creates a blank C++ game using your installed Unreal 5.8.
• In the cloud creates a blank C++ project without a local engine. Ask the agent to start a cloud editor when ready; creating the project starts no paid session. Your project files stay on your computer and cloud editor changes sync back when the session stops.
• To use a game you already have, open its .uproject file from the title bar.
• Start from in the New project window can pick a premade game to rebuild instead of a blank one, such as a short neon delivery racer or a haunted hotel escape. The project still starts as a blank Unreal project, but it comes with that game's plan (its idea, controls, levels, art style and a small first version) and the matching chapter path, so the chapters walk you through building it with the agent. The first chapter reads the plan back to you and asks what you'd like to change.

What setup changes in your projectCopy Anchor Link

Ryuo runs setup each time you open a project or launch Unreal. It:

• copies Ryuo's editor plugin, RyuoBridge, into the project's Plugins folder;
• turns on the Unreal plugins Ryuo talks to (Remote Control, Unreal MCP and Pixel Streaming, among others);
• writes the project settings they need, and turns on Unreal's autosave every minute and keeps the editor rendering while it is in the background;
• builds Ryuo's editor plugin when it is missing or out of date. If the editor is open, setup skips this step and asks you to close it first.

Running setup again changes nothing that's already correct. Your own code and assets are not touched.

On Mac, C++ compilation automatically saves, rebuilds and reopens the local editor. Windows cloud editors retain Live Coding. Ask for a Mac package to build an Apple Silicon game locally with Unreal and Xcode. Windows cloud packaging produces Windows games. Stop a running cloud editor before packaging on either platform: stopping it syncs its changes into your project, so they are in the build. Distribution signing and notarization of your game are separate.

Connect the editorCopy Anchor Link

The workspace has Assets, Sessions and Agent panels around the viewport. Use their buttons in the bottom bar to show or hide them, or right-click a button to move its panel. The Sessions history icon starts on the right. If you've already arranged your panels, your saved layout stays in place. For playtesting, ask the agent in chat or use Unreal's Play controls.

Ryuo starts the editor in the background when you open a project, so it's compiled and ready before your first chapter. You can turn that off with Open Unreal with the project in Settings → Workspace. Creating a new project on this computer always starts Unreal. If the editor isn't running, click Launch Unreal to start it. Live editor, beside the project selector, turns green when connected and red when disconnected. With the game view layout, Unreal opens inside Ryuo, in the Unreal tab; see Attach Unreal inside Ryuo.

A cloud editor appears in the Unreal tab as a live stream. It starts with Free mouse, so you can move the pointer out of the frame and back to chat. For continuous camera movement, use the mouse-mode button beneath the stream to enable click-to-capture, then click inside it. Press Esc or Shift+F1 to release the mouse. Use free mouse turns capture off without reconnecting. Switching to the Ryuo orb or leaving the app also releases capture.

If launch reports that setup is unfinished, open Settings → Advanced → Setup details to see the remaining step. Ryuo plugin built must show Up to date before launch. On Mac, setup recognizes and reuses an up-to-date Mac build; no Windows build is needed.

Ryuo only drives the editor that belongs to the project you have open. If another project's editor is running, close it or open that project in Ryuo instead.

When you switch to another project while Unreal has the last one open, Ryuo saves your work in that editor, closes it and opens the new project in its place. It only closes the editor of the project you switched away from. If Unreal can't save or doesn't close, for example while it shows a dialog, Ryuo asks first: Keep it open leaves it running so you can save there yourself, then close it and click Launch Unreal; Close anyway quits it and loses its unsaved changes. Switching only does this when Ryuo opens Unreal with the project; turn it off with Switch Unreal with the project in Settings → Workspace.

Before launching, Ryuo checks whether another process is using Unreal's connection ports. A conflict names the port and process ID; Ryuo does not stop that process. Close the conflicting service yourself before trying again. On Mac, a short wait can also appear after a restart while macOS releases Unreal's old connections.

If compilation succeeds but the editor cannot reconnect, treat that as a connection problem, not another compiler error. Keep Unreal open to preserve unsaved work and expand the failed tool's details for the recovery instructions. Repeated rebuilds will not fix an occupied port.

If Unreal is frozen and won't close, ask Ryuo to force quit this project's editor. Ryuo shows the project and editor processes it will stop and always asks for your confirmation, even in Auto mode. Unsaved work is lost, and an asset being written may be damaged. Force quit works on Mac and Windows without an editor connection and never stops another project's editor. It doesn't rebuild or reopen Unreal, so ask Ryuo to rebuild afterwards. It isn't available during a cloud editor session, and a connection error alone is not a reason to use it.

Make the studio yoursCopy Anchor Link

Attach Unreal inside RyuoCopy Anchor Link

With the game view layout, Unreal's own window sits in the middle of Ryuo, in the Unreal tab, with your panels on each side, so the studio works like a plugin around the editor. When Unreal opens on this computer, Ryuo attaches it by itself and closes Unreal's Outliner and Details panels, so you see just the level; reopen them from Unreal's Window menu whenever you need them.

Attached, Unreal goes wherever Ryuo goes: move or resize Ryuo and Unreal follows, minimize Ryuo and Unreal minimizes too, and closing Ryuo saves your work in Unreal and closes it. If Unreal can't save, Ryuo asks before closing it. The link button beside Ryuo's window controls turns this off and on: unlinked, Unreal still sits inside Ryuo, but it stays open when you minimize or close Ryuo. Dragging Unreal's title bar well away takes it out, and Detach in the status bar does the same; it then keeps its own window until the next time it opens. Attach Unreal, or dragging Unreal's window onto the game view, puts it back. To keep Unreal in its own window, turn off Attach Unreal inside Ryuo in Settings → Workspace.

Drag a sound, model, sprite or material from Generations onto attached Unreal to put it in your level where you drop it.

On Windows this works right away. On a Mac, Ryuo needs permission to move Unreal's window: choose Allow window control in the status bar and turn on Ryuo Studio under System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility. Until then, Ryuo moves its panels to each side of wherever Unreal is instead, which needs some free space beside Unreal's window. Attaching works with Unreal running on this computer, not with a cloud editor, and not while Unreal is in full screen. If Unreal closes or restarts while attached, Ryuo keeps its place and puts the new window back when it opens.

The first time after this update, rebuild the Ryuo plugin (ask the agent to rebuild the editor) so Unreal can close its panels and accept drops; until then Unreal still attaches, with its panels open.

Open Settings → Workspace to see a preview of your layout and choose a color palette. Each theme shows a small workspace and its colors. Customize studio reopens the guided setup. Pick a layout there: Chat shrinks the studio to a narrow window with the chat beside chapters and generations, and Unreal stays in its own window; Chat + game view adds the Ryuo orb and Unreal itself, attached in the middle. Take the tour replays the quick walkthrough, starting directly at your workspace controls without a welcome screen.

Creation holds image and video models and per-task limits. Advanced holds computer setup, project setup details, tool paths and logs.

Click your email address in the title bar to open Analytics, with your available credits, daily activity, active days and credits used in the last 30 days, plus a breakdown of your work over the last year. Details holds your plan and account actions. Counts may take a minute to arrive. Local assistant subscription usage remains with that provider.

If the sign-in browser tab was closed, use Reopen sign-in in Account settings to open a fresh approval page with the code already filled in.

Start working soonerCopy Anchor Link

On your first launch, Open my project opens a project in the Chat layout and turns off Open Unreal with the project, so Unreal does not start automatically. Start a game opens project creation with the game view. You can personalize later in Settings. A note from Ryu remains available on Home.

New projects suggest a Ryuo Projects folder in your home directory, outside the usual OneDrive Documents folder. Your chosen location is remembered. Existing projects stay where they are.

Use Focus chat for a wider conversation and Show game view to return. In Settings → Advanced, project readiness shows whether Unreal is installed, the project is prepared for Ryuo, Unreal is open and Ryuo is connected; expand Setup details for diagnostics.

Follow a chapterCopy Anchor Link

You can watch the Studio demo on the homepage before opening a project. It plays automatically with sound muted, without a control bar. Click the video to pause or resume, or focus it and press Space or Enter. If your browser blocks autoplay, press the play icon on the video. To explore your own workspace, open Settings → Workspace → Take the tour in Studio.

Choose a path in Chapters and click Start step. Paths cover General, Boss fight, Third-person shooter, Platformer, Exploration / adventure, Vehicle, Action RPG, Survival & crafting, Horror, Simulation / management and 2D Story Adventure. Below them, Or rebuild a premade game lists one ready-made game per path; picking one writes its game plan into your project (an existing plan is kept as a backup) and opens its path. A short guide explains how to reply, handle permission requests and review the result. In chat, a chapter step shows as a single Chapter step line with its name. Ryuo still receives the full instructions.

Answer questions in the message box and describe changes you want. When a step is ready, Ready for your review appears above the chat box. Read its verification evidence, try the result, and choose Accept result when you are happy. You can also accept from the chapter details. If several steps are ready, each result names its chapter and step. You can accept once the agent finishes, even if you changed files after the step was verified. Then start the next step.

If a step is already finished, for example because you built it yourself, open its chapter and choose Mark as done on that step.

Changing paths keeps each path’s progress separately. Switching back restores it; changed step requirements need a fresh review. Your game files stay in place, so review the game plan when starting a different path. Finish or cancel active work before switching.

The orb and current chapter follow the step you started. Steps waiting behind another task show Queued and become current when their instructions enter the conversation.

You can queue another chapter while Ryuo works. Each chapter runs in its own turn. Removing a queued step leaves its progress unchanged. Repeated clicks do not submit the same step again.

Later chapters show their recommended prerequisites. If your existing project already has what they need, open the chapter and choose Start early. Otherwise, follow the suggested order.

After accepting a result in either view, chat offers Start next step with its name when a later step is ready. It looks forward from the result you accepted, passing over completed or skipped steps. If you started a later stage early, it does not send you back to an older unfinished stage; those stages remain available in Chapters. Nothing starts or spends credits until you click it.

Reset progress clears only that step’s status and verification evidence after confirmation. It does not undo edits or delete game assets. Finish or remove queued work first.

Chapter screenshots belong to the current project and path. Switching projects clears the old previews.

Chapters shows a map of the recommended order. Choose Expand for a larger view or Change to choose another path, such as Vehicle. Cards show each chapter’s status.

Make the map yoursCopy Anchor Link

The chapter map belongs to your project, and you can reshape it:

• Drag cards to rearrange them. Tidy puts them back in their automatic places.
• Add chapter creates a new card from a name and a sentence or two about what it does, like "Fishing: cast a line at the lake and reel in fish to cook." The agent builds it from that description when you start it, and asks first if it's unclear or bigger than one chapter.
• Open a chapter and choose Edit to rename it or change what it does. Changing a chapter you added restarts its progress; renaming a built-in chapter keeps it.
• Remove deletes a chapter you added. Built-in chapters are hidden instead, and the chapters after them follow the ones before; Restore brings them back with their progress.
• In the expanded map, drag from the right edge of one card to another to say the second comes after the first. Click a line to remove it. Ryuo refuses links that would go in a circle.

You can also ask the agent, for example "add a chapter for a photo mode after Core loop" or "put Art pass before UI". Map changes count as edits, so whether it asks first follows your permission mode, and the map updates as soon as a change is made. Each path keeps its own map.

Verification details load when you expand a record. If loading fails, use Retry evidence; acceptance still checks the saved verification against your current project.