ViteSetup Assistant

The assistant exists because setting up an Unreal source build has many steps, each with failure modes that produce unhelpful errors when you get them wrong. It checks the environment first, so a missing toolchain component fails at step 1 with a clear message rather than at step 5 with a linker error.

Guided mode

Run ViteSetup.bat with no arguments.

Step	Action
1	Check the environment and enforce the toolchain
2	Set up dependencies, with platform selection
3	Generate Visual Studio project files
4	Choose source or binary build
5	Build the selected target
6	Register the selected build
7	Create `UEViteFork.lnk` on the desktop
8	Optional engine debloat
9	Finish; source builds launch the editor, binary builds do not

Each step pauses so you can read the output before continuing. Failures stop the assistant and report an error code rather than pushing on.

Step 1 — environment check

The assistant enforces a specific toolchain and will not proceed without it:

Requirement	Enforced value
Visual Studio	2022
MSVC	14.44
Windows SDK	10.0.26100, subversion .7705 or higher, major pinned to 26100
.NET Framework reference assemblies	v4.6.2 and v4.5

The .NET Framework 4.5 reference assemblies are the component people most often lack, since recent Visual Studio installers no longer offer them by default. See Build Troubleshooting.

Step 2 — dependency setup

Rather than running Setup.bat with everything, the assistant offers setup profiles:

Profile	What it does
Step-by-step assistant	Choose platforms and optional content individually, then review
Recommended Win64	Win64 only. Excludes non-Windows platforms, samples, templates, feature packs, docs, XR and consoles.
Win64 ultra compact	As recommended, with the smallest optional content set
Win64 + templates / feature packs	Keeps project templates and starter content
Win64 + Android	Adds Android dependencies
Win64 + Linux	Adds Linux and cross-compile dependencies
Full setup	Passes no `-exclude` argument to `Setup.bat`

The step-by-step assistant exposes individual platform toggles for Android, iOS/tvOS, Mac, Linux, WinRT, HTML5 and consoles. Win32 support files are always included, since Win64 requires them.

Recommended Win64 is the right choice for most people. Downloading dependencies you will never use costs bandwidth, disk space and setup time. If you later need a platform, re-run setup with it enabled.

Step 4 — source or binary

Option	Result
Source build	Builds `UE4Editor`, `ShaderCompileWorker` and `UnrealLightmass` in the source tree, Win64 Development
Binary Installed Build	Incremental BuildGraph run producing `LocalBuilds\Engine\Windows` plus `UE_ViteFork.7z`

Choose source if you are working on the engine or want to modify compile-time switches. Choose binary if you want a redistributable engine to hand to people who do not need to compile it. See Installed Builds.

Steps 6 and 7 — registration and shortcut

Registration writes the engine path under HKCU\Software\Epic Games\Unreal Engine\Builds as UEViteFork, which is what makes the build selectable in a .uproject file's engine association. The engine association identifier is UE_ViteFork.

The shortcut step creates UEViteFork.lnk pointing at UE4Editor.exe.

Both are also available standalone as LocalBuilds\RegistryAdd.bat and LocalBuilds\MakeShortcut.bat.

Step 8 — debloat

Optionally runs the debloat assistant, offering:

Option	Behaviour
Move to a recovery folder	Restorable later. Destination is `ViteDebloat_Moved` next to the engine folder. Recommended.
Delete permanently	Smallest footprint, not reversible

Full detail in the Debloat Guide.

ViteSetup.bat menu skips the guided flow and presents the operations individually:

Option	Action
1	Check the environment
2	Set up dependencies (assistant)
3	Generate Visual Studio files
4	Build Unreal Engine source
5	Setup, then generate Visual Studio files
6	Open `UE4.sln`
7	Show setup profiles
8	Build installed binary
9	Debloat engine (assistant)
0	Exit

Menu mode is what you want for day-to-day work. Regenerating project files after adding a module, or rebuilding after a pull, does not need the whole nine-step flow.

Key paths

Variable	Path
Editor executable	`Engine\Binaries\Win64\UE4Editor.exe`
Installed build staging	`LocalBuilds\Engine\Windows`
Installed build archive	`LocalBuilds\Engine\UE_ViteFork.7z`
Source cache	`UE4_Source_Cache`
Engine association	`UE_ViteFork`

Unreal Engine Vite Help