Getting Started with Unreal Canvas
Set up Unreal Canvas in five steps: enable the plugins, install the Unreal Canvas server and its local AI models, connect your AI providers, connect an AI agent if you want one, and run a health check. When the health check passes, you're ready to create your first asset. Unreal Canvas can also run in a supported standalone app; this page covers the Unreal Canvas tab in Unreal Editor.
For what Unreal Canvas is and how it works, see Unreal Canvas Overview.
Before You Begin
You need the following:
Unreal Engine 5.9 Preview, installed using the instructions for your engine build or plugin package, with a project open. If you use an existing project, work on a copy. Preview builds aren't meant for production projects.
An NVIDIA GPU with at least 8 GB of video memory. The local AI steps (segmentation, depth, and edge detection) run on your GPU.
An account and API key with at least one AI provider: You bring your own keys, and each provider bills you for generation. Pre-release builds support fal.ai, Scenario, Luma (and Luma Agents), and World Labs, plus local models that run on your GPU.
An AI agent (optional): Claude Code or Codex installed on your computer, or a company sign-in or API connection for another agent provider. Unreal Canvas uses the agent's own account and settings.
Network access: To download the local AI models and Python packages, and to reach your providers.
1 - Enable the Unreal Canvas Plugins
You only need to enable the Unreal Canvas Bridge plugin to get started. It enables the other plugins Unreal Canvas depends on. For what each plugin does, see Unreal Canvas in Unreal Engine.
Steps
From the main menu, choose Edit > Plugins.
Search for Unreal Canvas Bridge, and enable its checkbox.
Click Yes to accept the experimental plugin warning.
Click Restart Now.
The editor restarts with the Unreal Canvas plugins loaded. Expect a longer startup than before. For everything enabling the plugin installs and changes in your project, see What Gets Installed and What Changes in Your Project.
2 - Install the Unreal Canvas Server
The first time you open the Unreal Canvas tab, it completes the rest of the installation. The server unpacks first, followed by the local AI models and video tools. These are several GB, and download only after you agree.
Steps
Open the Unreal Canvas tab from Tools > Unreal Canvas.
Click Install Unreal Canvas. The tab shows a progress bar while the server unpacks.
In the Download additional Unreal Canvas components dialog, click Yes.
If you click No, the local steps (segmentation, depth, and edges) are unavailable until you install the models. A banner at the top of the tab offers them again.
Keep open the Unreal Canvas window that's running your work. Closing it can interrupt running tools and scripts. Several windows can share one server, but a running script stays tied to the window that started it.
Teams that host their own server builds can install from a build server or a shared folder instead. See Managing Unreal Canvas Versions.
The Unreal Canvas Tab at a Glance
You use these areas of the Unreal Canvas tab in the rest of this page. For how canvases, cards, and the toolshelf work, see Canvases and Organization, Cards, and Work with the Toolshelf.
Area | What It Does |
The Canvas | Your main working surface. Your content sits here as cards, which you can group into decks or Frames. You can also add notes and drawings as annotations. |
Toolshelf | Your main interaction point. From here, you can ask agents to do work, or use generative models to create new content. See the table below. |
App Bar | The top bar, with general app controls. On the left: Open and Save. A dot on the save icon means unsaved changes. Then one tab per open canvas. Click + to open another canvas. On the right: Help (?) and Settings (gear icon). When you run Unreal Canvas as a standalone app, Unreal Connect connects it to an Unreal Editor session. |
Panel Dock | Expands the tool panels: Agents, at the top, monitors and interacts with all running agents. Library shows all content on the canvas, including archived cards. Toolbox holds graphs, Python scripts, and agent skills, and creates new ones. Inspector shows the details, history, metadata, and provenance of a selected item, including cards, Frames, and graph nodes. Operations tracks active and recently completed generative tasks. |
View Controls | At the top right of the canvas: filter, zoom out, zoom level, zoom in, and settings. Filter shows cards that match criteria such as ratings, votes, status, and age. You can add new card metadata in Settings. The settings menu also opens the Canvas Map. |
Canvas Palette | Canvas tools: select mode, insert (+), annotations (pen), and Frame (#). In Settings, you can choose where the palette sits. |
Cards | A single element or artifact on the canvas. Each card has one type, with rules you can recognize at a glance. |
Toolshelf
The toolshelf has the following controls:
Control | What It Does |
Status message | Appears above the prompt field when something blocks generation, such as a model with no confirmed credentials. |
Prompt field | Describe what you want to create. Use the expand icon for more room, the microphone to speak your prompt, + to add inputs, and × to clear the prompt. |
Output type | Chooses what to generate: Image, video, audio, text, and other types. |
Model picker | Chooses the model that runs your generation. It reads No models available until you add a provider. |
Generation settings | Click the settings icon beside the model picker to show Aspect Ratio, Resolution, Count, Seed, Google Search, and Batch. The settings change by model. |
Agent | Chooses the agent that works with this generation. |
Output options | Beside Generate. Choose where results go: Create New Card, Create New Deck, Add to Deck, or Agent Chooses. |
Add provider / Generate | Shows Add provider until a provider is connected, then Generate. Or press Ctrl/Cmd+Enter to generate. |
3 - Connect Your AI Providers
Unreal Canvas generates images, video, text, and meshes through the providers you connect with your API keys. The models that appear in the toolshelf depend on the keys you add, the model catalog, and your project's restrictions. Set up your providers in three Settings panes, in order.
Steps
In the App Bar, click Settings (gear icon). Or, in the toolshelf, click Add provider.
Model Providers: Paste the API key for each provider you use. You're done when no row reads Missing for a provider you need.
Model Catalog: Check which models can run, and star a model to make it the default. You're done when at least one image model can run.
Default Models: Choose one default for each kind of work you plan to do: image, video, mesh, splat, and upscale.
Check that each provider's status updates. Unreal Canvas refreshes credentials and the model list when you change a key, so you don't usually need to restart. If a provider shows restart instructions, for example for a sign-in or an environment-based setting, follow them.
Keys set in an environment variable or a keys file take priority over keys you enter in Settings. If a key you entered seems to be ignored, check for one of these first.
Treat API keys like passwords. Don't paste them into bug reports, chat, or screenshots.
You can leave the other Settings panes, such as Model Schemas, Storage, External Paths, and Extensions, until you need them. Extensions add new tools, card types, and connections to other software.
Your providers' models appear in the toolshelf's model picker, with a default set for each kind of work, and Add provider changes to Generate.
If a model has no key, the toolshelf shows a message that names the setting it needs. For example: Model 'Nanobanana 2' has no confirmed credentials. Sign in or configure scenario-api-key in Settings, then retry.
Key Formats
Some providers need their key in a specific format. For example, Scenario takes an ID and a secret joined by a colon (id:secret).
Model Approval Badges
Every model in the Model Catalog shows an approval badge:
Badge | Meaning |
Approved | Cleared for use. |
Limited Use | Allowed with conditions. Read the note on the badge. |
Unreviewed | Not reviewed yet. |
Your project can also restrict which models run. If a model is listed but doesn't run, your project's restrictions may not allow it. Your studio decides which models are allowed, so check with whoever owns model approvals before you use a new provider for production work.
4 - Connect an AI Agent (Optional)
An AI agent reads your canvas and builds or runs the work you describe. The Agents panel walks you through connecting one in three steps. Unreal Canvas uses the agent's own account and connection settings, including your organization's configuration, and doesn't change them.
Steps
In the Panel Dock, click Agents. The Connect your agent sidebar opens.
Under Choose your connection, choose one of the following:
Claude Code: Uses the Claude Code CLI on your computer.
Codex: Uses the Codex CLI on your computer.
Other providers: A company sign-in or an API connection.
The agent connection shows Set up if it isn't configured yet, or shows Detected if it's installed
Click Check connection. This checks the local runtime and the available models, and doesn't send a message yet. If your account isn't signed in, click Show sign-in steps first.
Under Model for your first chat, keep Default (recommended), or choose another model.
Click Send test message. This uses your agent provider's account and may incur its normal usage charges. It doesn't change your canvas.
The panel reads You're connected, and confirms that your agent replied. Click Start chatting to open a chat, or Set up another provider to connect another agent. The model, permission, and effort controls are in your chat.
For how Unreal Canvas and Unreal MCP use agents differently, see Unreal Canvas and Unreal MCP.
Agent usage can have its own costs, separate from the generation services the agent uses.
5 - Run a Health Check
Work through the checks in order. The first five cost nothing. Only the optional last checks run billed requests.
Steps
Panel loads. Open the Unreal Canvas tab. The Unreal Canvas interface appears.
Version. Open Help > About Unreal Canvas. Write down the Unreal Canvas version and your engine version. You need both for any bug report.
Providers. In Settings > Model Providers, nothing you need reads Missing.
Models. In Settings > Model Catalog, at least one image model can run. The toolshelf shows Generate instead of Add provider.
Scene render. Frame a shot in the Level Editor viewport. On a new canvas, open Toolbox and run Viewport Render. A new render card appears, with Beauty, Depth, Normal, and Edges passes as its components. This runs on your computer and costs nothing.
First generation (optional). In the toolshelf, set the output type to Image, and choose a model that accepts reference images. Select the render card, and add its passes through Inputs. Write a short prompt, and set Count to 1 in the generation settings. Open the output options beside Generate, keep Create New Card, then click Generate (or press Ctrl/Cmd+Enter). Watch progress in Operations. Your provider bills this generation.
Agent (optional). In the Agents panel, your agent shows as connected. If you skipped the test message in step 4, send it now. Your agent provider may bill this message.
Viewport Render starts Play In Editor by default, so level logic such as physics and Blueprints runs during the render.
If a Check Fails
Local steps run on your GPU, and generation runs with your provider. They fail independently, so the half that works tells you which half to investigate.
The tab is blank, or shows a "can't connect" page: Close Unreal Editor completely and reopen it. If it keeps happening, run the Unreal Canvas install again.
A version mismatch or "no versions found" message: The server version must match the plugin exactly. Update to the latest 5.9 Preview release, then restart the editor.
The toolshelf says a model has no confirmed credentials: Add the key the message names in Settings > Model Providers, and check that its status updates.
The model picker reads No models available: No provider is connected yet. Click Add provider, and follow step 3.
A generator fails as soon as you run it: Add that provider's key in Model Providers. If the key is there, check for a key in an environment variable or keys file that overrides it.
A model is listed but doesn't run: Your project's restrictions may not allow it. Use an approved model, or ask your model-approval owner.
Segmentation, depth, or edge steps fail: Run the Unreal Canvas install again, and agree to the model download.
The viewport render is black: Point the camera at your scene, and make sure the viewport tab is in front.
The render shows things moving or changing: Viewport Render runs Play In Editor by default, so level logic runs. Use Editor World mode where it's available.
Your agent doesn't connect: In the Agents panel, click Show sign-in steps, sign in with your agent's CLI, then click Check connection again.
Editor actions or agents stop working: The window running the work was closed. Reopen the Unreal Canvas tab from the Tools menu.
Unreal Canvas isn't in the Tools menu: Check that Unreal Canvas Bridge is enabled in step 1.
Changes That Need a Full Editor Restart
Close and reopen Unreal Editor after you do any of the following:
Change where Unreal Canvas looks for its server builds.
Turn plugins on or off.
Change a provider setting whose restart instructions ask for it, such as a sign-in or an environment-based setting.
Where Your Work Is Stored
Unreal Canvas keeps your canvases, results, and uploads in your user folder by default. You can change where data is stored, for example to a shared drive. On Windows, the default folders are under %APPDATA% and %LOCALAPPDATA%. Back these folders up like any other project data.
If a canvas doesn't open after a crash, open Settings > Storage, click Scan, then Quarantine the damaged files. Quarantine moves them aside safely and doesn't delete them.
For content Unreal Canvas saves inside your project, see What Changes in Your Project.