kevinpbuckley/asset-management

Asset Discovery & Management Skill

Critical Rules

⚠️ search_assets Does NOT Search Engine Content

search_assets(term, type) only searches /Game/ content. There is NO third parameter.

# WRONG - will error (only 2 params exist)
assets = unreal.AssetDiscoveryService.search_assets("Cube", "", True)

# CORRECT - use list_assets_in_path for engine content
engine_assets = unreal.AssetDiscoveryService.list_assets_in_path("/Engine")
cubes = [a for a in engine_assets if "Cube" in str(a.asset_name)]

⚠️ UE 5.7 Property Changes

| WRONG (old) | CORRECT (UE 5.7) | |-------------|------------------| | asset.name | asset.asset_name | | asset.path | asset.package_path | | asset.asset_class | asset.asset_class_path |

⚠️ Importing Image Files From Disk — Use the Built-in Importer

To bring an image file from disk into the Content Browser, use the manage_asset import action (or AssetDiscoveryService.import_asset). Do NOT call unreal.AssetToolsHelpers...import_asset_tasks or ImportAssets from execute_python_code — those pump the game-thread task graph and trip a RecursionGuard assertion that crashes the editor when run from inside a tool call.

# PREFERRED — MCP tool (robust, no crash)
# manage_asset(action="import",
#              source_file_path="C:/Images/rocks.jpg",
#              destination_path="/Game/UI/Textures",
#              asset_name="T_Rocks")

# Python equivalent (same safe C++ path)
import unreal
path, err = unreal.AssetDiscoveryService.import_asset(
    "C:/Images/rocks.jpg", "/Game/UI/Textures", "T_Rocks")
print(path or err)

# WRONG — crashes the editor (TaskGraph RecursionGuard assertion)
# tasks = [unreal.AssetImportTask()]; unreal.AssetToolsHelpers.get_asset_tools().import_asset_tasks(tasks)

Supported image formats: png, jpg, jpeg, bmp, tga, dds, exr, hdr, tiff, tif, psd, pcx.

⚠️ Asset Paths Must Be Content Browser Paths

Use /Game/... paths, not file system paths.

# WRONG - file system path
asset = unreal.AssetDiscoveryService.find_asset_by_path("C:/Projects/Content/BP_Player.uasset")

# CORRECT - content browser path
asset = unreal.AssetDiscoveryService.find_asset_by_path("/Game/Blueprints/BP_Player")

⚠️ Never Emulate Move/Rename with Duplicate + Delete

Duplicating creates a new asset identity. References stay pointed at the original asset, so deleting the original after a duplicate can break those references.

Use a real move instead:

import unreal

unreal.AssetDiscoveryService.move_asset(
    "/Game/StateTree/STT_Rotate",
    "/Game/StateTree/Tasks/STT_Rotate"
)

# MCP equivalent
# manage_asset(action="move", source_path="/Game/StateTree/STT_Rotate", destination_path="/Game/StateTree/Tasks/STT_Rotate")

⚠️ Methods NOT Available

| Does NOT Exist | Alternative | |----------------|-------------| | asset_exists() | find_asset_by_path() → check for None | | is_asset_in_use() | get_asset_referencers() → check if empty | | rename_asset() | move_asset(old_path, new_path) | | export_asset() | export_texture() for textures only |

---

Workflows

Search Pattern

import unreal

# By name (partial match) - ONLY searches /Game/ content
results = unreal.AssetDiscoveryService.search_assets("Player", "Blueprint")
for asset in results:
    print(f"{asset.asset_name}: {asset.package_path}")

# By folder
assets = unreal.AssetDiscoveryService.list_assets_in_path("/Game/Blueprints")

# By type only
all_bps = unreal.AssetDiscoveryService.get_assets_by_type("Blueprint")

Search Engine Content

import unreal

# Search engine content (e.g., for built-in meshes like Cube)
engine_assets = unreal.AssetDiscoveryService.list_assets_in_path("/Engine")
cubes = [a for a in engine_assets if "Cube" in str(a.asset_name)]

# Filter by type
meshes = unreal.AssetDiscoveryService.list_assets_in_path("/Engine", "StaticMesh")

Check Exists Pattern

import unreal

asset = unreal.AssetDiscoveryService.find_asset_by_path("/Game/BP_Player")
if asset:
    print(f"Found: {asset.asset_name}")
else:
    print("Not found - create it")

Duplicate Pattern

import unreal

success = unreal.AssetDiscoveryService.duplicate_asset("/Game/BP_Enemy", "/Game/BP_EnemyBoss")
if success:
    print("Duplicated")

Move Pattern

import unreal

success = unreal.AssetDiscoveryService.move_asset(
    "/Game/StateTree/STT_Rotate",
    "/Game/StateTree/Tasks/STT_Rotate"
)
if success:
    print("Moved without breaking references")

Save Pattern

import unreal

# Save specific asset
unreal.AssetDiscoveryService.save_asset("/Game/BP_Player")

# Save all dirty assets
count = unreal.AssetDiscoveryService.save_all_assets()
print(f"Saved {count} assets")

Check References Before Delete

import unreal

refs = unreal.AssetDiscoveryService.get_asset_referencers("/Game/SM_Weapon")
if len(refs) == 0:
    unreal.AssetDiscoveryService.delete_asset("/Game/SM_Weapon")
else:
    print(f"In use by {len(refs)} assets")

Import/Export Textures

import unreal

# Import (disk → Content Browser). Returns (asset_path, error); asset_path is "" on failure.
# Pass a destination FOLDER + optional asset name.
path, err = unreal.AssetDiscoveryService.import_asset(
    "C:/Textures/logo.png", "/Game/Textures", "T_Logo")
print(path or err)

# import_texture(src, dest_asset_path) still works (takes a full asset path) and now uses the
# same crash-safe importer under the hood:
unreal.AssetDiscoveryService.import_texture("C:/Textures/logo.png", "/Game/Textures/T_Logo")

# Export (project → file system)
unreal.AssetDiscoveryService.export_texture("/Game/Textures/T_Logo", "C:/Exports/logo.png")

Prefer the manage_asset import action in tool flows: manage_asset(action="import", source_file_path="C:/Textures/logo.png", destination_path="/Game/Textures", asset_name="T_Logo")

Editor State & Content Browser

import unreal

# Get all open assets
open_assets = unreal.AssetDiscoveryService.get_open_assets()
print(f"Editing {len(open_assets)} assets")

# Check if specific asset is open
if unreal.AssetDiscoveryService.is_asset_open("/Game/BP_Player"):
    print("BP_Player is open")

# Get selected assets in Content Browser
selected = unreal.AssetDiscoveryService.get_content_browser_selections()
for asset in selected:
    print(asset.asset_name)

# Get primary selection
asset = unreal.AssetData()
if unreal.AssetDiscoveryService.get_primary_content_browser_selection(asset):
    print(f"Selected: {asset.asset_name}")

Create Non-Standard Asset Types (Factory Pattern)

Assets not covered by VibeUE services (e.g., LandscapeGrassType) require AssetToolsHelpers + a factory:

import unreal

asset_tools = unreal.AssetToolsHelpers.get_asset_tools()

# LandscapeGrassType
factory = unreal.LandscapeGrassTypeFactory()
lgt = asset_tools.create_asset("LGT_MyGrass", "/Game/Landscape", unreal.LandscapeGrassType, factory)

# After creation, set properties via set_editor_property, then save
unreal.EditorAssetLibrary.save_asset("/Game/Landscape/LGT_MyGrass")

Tip: Use discover_python_module("unreal", name_filter="Factory") to find available factories for other asset types.

⚠️ search_assets May Not Find All Asset Types

search_assets(term, type) searches by name/type but may return empty for niche types like LandscapeGrassType. If search returns nothing:

1. Use get_assets_by_type("LandscapeGrassType") for type-specific queries
2. Use list_assets_in_path("/Game/SomeFolder") and filter in Python
3. Asset class names must match UE class names exactly (e.g., LandscapeGrassType, not GrassType)

Common Asset Types for Filtering

• Blueprint - Blueprint classes
• WidgetBlueprint - UMG Widget Blueprints
• Texture2D - Texture assets
• StaticMesh - Static mesh assets
• SkeletalMesh - Skeletal mesh assets
• Material - Materials
• MaterialInstanceConstant - Material instances
• DataTable - Data Tables
• PrimaryDataAsset - Primary Data Assets
• LandscapeGrassType - Landscape grass/vegetation scatter types
• LandscapeLayerInfoObject - Landscape paint layer info