Installation

Two halves. The editor plugin and the Claude connector.

HullForge has two halves and you need both: an Unreal plugin that does the work, and a connector that lets Claude reach it. This is the same shape as most editor integrations.

Requirements

Thing	Why
Unreal Engine 5.5 to 5.8	The plugin runs inside the editor
Windows 64-bit	The only platform currently built
Claude Desktop	Hosts the connector

1. Install the Unreal plugin

Copy the HullForge folder into your project’s Plugins directory, so you end up with:

YourProject/
  Plugins/
    HullForge/
      HullForge.uplugin
      Source/

Open the project, then enable it under Edit > Plugins > Editor. Restart when prompted.

On restart, HullForge begins listening on loopback automatically. Nothing else to configure.

2. Install the Claude connector

In Claude Desktop:

Settings > Extensions > Advanced settings > Extension Developer > Install Extension…

Select HullForge.mcpb and follow the prompts.

Double-clicking the file may also work, but only if Windows has an association registered for .mcpb. If double-clicking opens a “Select an app” dialog instead, press Escape and use the menu above. Do not pick an application from that dialog, and in particular do not tick “Always”, or .mcpb files will be permanently associated with the wrong program.

There is no JSON to edit and no Python to install: the connector is a single compiled binary with no runtime dependencies.

It talks to Claude over stdin and stdout, and to your editor over loopback. See How it works if you want the detail, and Security model for what that does and does not protect.

3. Check it worked

Open your Unreal project, then ask Claude:

Is HullForge connected?

You should get back the project name and a tool count.

If no editor is running you will see only two tools, hf_bridge_status and hf_list_tool_areas, and the first will tell you what to do. Both live in the connector rather than the editor and are deliberately always available, so “nothing is here” is never a silent state.

Nothing appeared

If Claude lists no HullForge tools at all, the connector did not install. Check Claude Desktop’s connector settings.

If it lists only hf_bridge_status and hf_list_tool_areas, the connector is fine and the editor is the problem. Either no project is open, or the plugin is not enabled in the one that is. Open the project and the remaining tools appear within a second or two, with no need to restart Claude.

More detail in Connector troubleshooting.