Unreal MCP Status

Know whether your AI assistant can reach the Unreal Editor before you ask it to do something.

Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot and other MCP clients control Unreal Engine through an MCP server running inside the editor. When that server is not reachable, the agent rarely says so clearly: tool calls time out, it gives up, or it tries a workaround. This extension puts one light in your status bar that tells you whether the connection works and, if it does not, why.

Highlights

• One glance. Green, yellow or red in the status bar, checked every 3 seconds.
• Tells you why. It tells apart "editor is closed", "editor is running but the server is not answering" and "another program is using the port".
• One-click fix. Click the light to get the console command that starts the server, copied to your clipboard.
• Works with Epic's Unreal MCP plugin out of the box. The default address matches the built-in plugin in Unreal Engine 5.8, so there is nothing to configure.
• Works with any other MCP server that speaks HTTP. Just change the address.
• Lightweight and private. About 16 KB, no dependencies, no extra processes, no cloud, no telemetry. It uses the MCP ping method, so it never opens sessions in the editor.
• Windows, macOS and Linux. English and Polish interface.

Install

• VS Code: Visual Studio Marketplace, or search for "Unreal MCP Status" in the Extensions view.
• Antigravity, Cursor, VSCodium and other VS Code-based editors: Open VSX.
• From the command line: code --install-extension montemr.unreal-mcp-status

Quick start with Epic's Unreal MCP plugin (UE 5.8)

1. Enable the plugin. In Unreal, open Edit → Plugins, search for Unreal MCP (Experimental), enable it and restart the editor.
2. Check the server settings. In Edit → Editor Preferences → Plugins → Model Context Protocol, keep the port at 8000 and the path at /mcp, and turn on Auto Start Server.
3. Connect your AI client. The plugin can write the client configuration for you. Run this in the Unreal console:

   ModelContextProtocol.GenerateClientConfig All
   

   Replace All with ClaudeCode, Cursor, VSCode, Gemini or Codex to set up just one client. For Claude Code you can also run:

   claude mcp add --transport http unreal http://127.0.0.1:8000/mcp
   

4. Install this extension. The light turns green as soon as the editor is ready.

What the light means

Hover over the light for details, or click it to check right away.

Using a different MCP server

Set unrealMcpStatus.url to your server's address. Any server that implements the MCP Streamable HTTP transport and answers ping turns the light green. The "editor is running" check looks for the UnrealEditor process, and the Copy command button copies the command for Epic's plugin.

How it works

Every few seconds the extension sends an MCP ping (JSON-RPC over HTTP) to the configured address. A ping needs no session, so polling does not leave sessions open in the editor. If nothing answers, it checks whether an UnrealEditor process is running to tell "editor closed" apart from "server not started".

Settings

Commands

• Unreal MCP: Check connection (unrealMcpStatus.refresh) checks now and shows the result.

Privacy

The extension only talks to the address you configure (your own machine by default) and reads the local process list to find UnrealEditor. Nothing leaves your computer.

Requirements

• Unreal Engine 5 with an MCP server listening over HTTP, such as Epic's Unreal MCP plugin in UE 5.8.
• Windows, macOS or Linux. Process detection uses tasklist on Windows and pgrep elsewhere.

The extension runs on your local machine (UI side) even in remote workspaces, because the editor and its MCP server run locally.

Languages

English and Polish. The extension follows the display language of your editor.

License

MIT