CloudDeployer
Dedicated-server infrastructure on AWS, from the editor

Overview

CloudDeployer is an editor-only tool. It never ships in your game: it helps you put the dedicated servers of your game on AWS and operate them. Every request runs on a background thread with automatic retries, so the editor never freezes.

• CloudFormation: validate, create, update, delete, describe and list stacks, read events, outputs and resources, change sets, cost estimates, and Deploy Stack (create-or-update and wait, streaming the events).
• Three Alpha XP templates in the plugin's Templates folder: an ECS Fargate dedicated-server service, an EC2 Auto Scaling game-server fleet and an ECR repository with a lifecycle policy.
• ECR + Docker: repositories, images, lifecycle policies, Docker Login To ECR (password through stdin only), Build And Push Image with live output and Generate Dockerfile For Linux Server for your packaged LinuxServer build.
• ECS: clusters, Fargate task definitions (ports, environment, logs, roles), services (create / update / scale / delete), standalone tasks for match servers, and Get Task Public IP.
• EC2 and Auto Scaling: instances (start / stop / reboot / terminate), regions, zones, images, security groups and ingress rules, key pairs saved to a file, VPCs and subnets for template parameters; Auto Scaling sizes, activities and process suspension.
• The CloudDeployer tab (Window > Tools > Alpha XP > CloudDeployer): stack list, deploy panel, live event log, outputs and quick actions.
• Credentials from your AWS CLI configuration (named profiles, SSO, credential_process, assume-role), static keys or a Cognito identity pool; Get Caller Identity checks them in one click.
• Every destructive node needs bConfirm = true.

Requirements

Installation

1. Install CloudDeployer from Fab into your engine, or copy the CloudDeployer folder into your project's Plugins folder.
2. Enable CloudDeployer in Edit > Plugins and restart the editor.
3. Open Project Settings > Plugins > CloudDeployer and set the Region. Leave Credential Mode on Default Credential Chain and, if you use several AWS profiles, enter the Profile Name.
4. Open Window > Tools > Alpha XP > CloudDeployer and press Who Am I: it shows the account and role the editor uses.

Setting up AWS

1. Install the AWS CLI and run aws configure (access keys) or aws configure sso + aws sso login. CloudDeployer reads the same ~/.aws/credentials and ~/.aws/config files.
2. Use a user or role made for deployments. The policy below covers every node; remove the groups you do not use. Templates also need the permissions of the resources they create (CloudFormation calls them with your credentials).

{
  "Version": "2012-10-17",
  "Statement": [
    { "Sid": "Identity", "Effect": "Allow", "Action": ["sts:GetCallerIdentity"], "Resource": "*" },
    { "Sid": "CloudFormation", "Effect": "Allow",
      "Action": ["cloudformation:ValidateTemplate", "cloudformation:EstimateTemplateCost",
                 "cloudformation:CreateStack", "cloudformation:UpdateStack", "cloudformation:DeleteStack",
                 "cloudformation:DescribeStacks", "cloudformation:ListStacks", "cloudformation:DescribeStackEvents",
                 "cloudformation:ListStackResources", "cloudformation:CreateChangeSet", "cloudformation:DescribeChangeSet",
                 "cloudformation:ExecuteChangeSet", "cloudformation:DeleteChangeSet"],
      "Resource": "*" },
    { "Sid": "ECR", "Effect": "Allow",
      "Action": ["ecr:GetAuthorizationToken", "ecr:CreateRepository", "ecr:DeleteRepository", "ecr:DescribeRepositories",
                 "ecr:DescribeImages", "ecr:ListImages", "ecr:BatchDeleteImage", "ecr:PutLifecyclePolicy",
                 "ecr:BatchCheckLayerAvailability", "ecr:InitiateLayerUpload", "ecr:UploadLayerPart",
                 "ecr:CompleteLayerUpload", "ecr:PutImage", "ecr:BatchGetImage", "ecr:GetDownloadUrlForLayer",
                 "ecr:PutImageScanningConfiguration", "ecr:TagResource"],
      "Resource": "*" },
    { "Sid": "ECS", "Effect": "Allow",
      "Action": ["ecs:ListClusters", "ecs:DescribeClusters", "ecs:CreateCluster", "ecs:DeleteCluster",
                 "ecs:RegisterTaskDefinition", "ecs:ListTaskDefinitions", "ecs:DescribeTaskDefinition",
                 "ecs:DeregisterTaskDefinition", "ecs:CreateService", "ecs:UpdateService", "ecs:DeleteService",
                 "ecs:DescribeServices", "ecs:ListServices", "ecs:RunTask", "ecs:StopTask", "ecs:ListTasks",
                 "ecs:DescribeTasks", "ecs:TagResource"],
      "Resource": "*" },
    { "Sid": "PassTaskRoles", "Effect": "Allow", "Action": "iam:PassRole",
      "Resource": "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/mygame-*",
      "Condition": { "StringEquals": { "iam:PassedToService": ["ecs-tasks.amazonaws.com", "ec2.amazonaws.com"] } } },
    { "Sid": "EC2", "Effect": "Allow",
      "Action": ["ec2:DescribeInstances", "ec2:StartInstances", "ec2:StopInstances", "ec2:RebootInstances",
                 "ec2:TerminateInstances", "ec2:DescribeRegions", "ec2:DescribeAvailabilityZones", "ec2:DescribeImages",
                 "ec2:DescribeSecurityGroups", "ec2:AuthorizeSecurityGroupIngress", "ec2:CreateKeyPair",
                 "ec2:DescribeKeyPairs", "ec2:DescribeVpcs", "ec2:DescribeSubnets", "ec2:DescribeNetworkInterfaces"],
      "Resource": "*" },
    { "Sid": "AutoScaling", "Effect": "Allow",
      "Action": ["autoscaling:DescribeAutoScalingGroups", "autoscaling:SetDesiredCapacity",
                 "autoscaling:UpdateAutoScalingGroup", "autoscaling:DescribeScalingActivities",
                 "autoscaling:SuspendProcesses", "autoscaling:ResumeProcesses"],
      "Resource": "*" }
  ]
}

Per node group: Stacks / Change Sets / Templates need the CloudFormation statement (plus the template's own resource permissions: ecs:*, ec2:*SecurityGroup*, iam:CreateRole / iam:AttachRolePolicy / iam:PassRole / iam:DeleteRole / iam:*InstanceProfile*, logs:CreateLogGroup / logs:PutRetentionPolicy / logs:DeleteLogGroup, ec2:*LaunchTemplate*, autoscaling:CreateAutoScalingGroup / DeleteAutoScalingGroup, ssm:GetParameters for the AMI parameter, ecr:SetRepositoryPolicy). ECR and Docker need the ECR statement (the layer actions are what docker push uses). ECS needs the ECS statement and iam:PassRole on the execution / task roles. EC2, Auto Scaling and Get Caller Identity need their statements. Read-only use (the tab's stack list and logs) only needs the Describe / List / Get actions.

Quick start

Dedicated servers on Fargate in four steps

1. Repository: in the tab pick EcrRepository, stack name mygame-ecr, press Validate (parameters appear), set RepositoryName=mygame-server, press Deploy. When it is CREATE_COMPLETE, copy the RepositoryUri output.
2. Image: package your project for Linux (server target). In an Editor Utility Blueprint: Generate Dockerfile For Linux Server (Project Name, Port 7777) → save it as Dockerfile in the LinuxServer folder (Save String To File) → Build And Push Image with Context Folder = that folder and Image Uri = Make Image Uri(RepositoryUri, 1.0). On Output shows every Docker line.
3. Network: Describe Vpcs (take the default VPC) and Describe Subnets (public subnets: Map Public Ip On Launch = true).
4. Servers: in the tab pick EcsFargateServer, stack name mygame-servers, Validate, fill ImageUri, VpcId, Subnets (comma separated), keep Allow IAM checked and press Deploy. The event log follows the deployment. Then List Tasks + Get Task Public IP give the address players connect to (open 1.2.3.4:7777).

The same from Blueprints

Get Bundled Template(EcsFargateServer) → Deploy Stack(Stack Name, Template Body, Parameters map, Capabilities = Named IAM). On Event fires for every stack event, On Succeeded carries the stack with its Outputs (Get Stack Output Value ClusterName). New server version: push the image with a new tag and call Deploy Stack again with only ImageUri in Parameters — the other parameters keep their values.

One server per match

Use the stack's TaskDefinitionArn output with Run Task (Count 1, Network = the stack's subnets and SecurityGroupId, Environment Overrides = map / session id), then poll Get Task Public IP until it succeeds (the error is retryable while the task starts) and Stop Task when the match is over.

The CloudDeployer tab

• Region / Profile / Apply: switch region and AWS profile for this editor session. Who Am I shows the account and ARN of the credentials. Refresh Stacks reloads the stack list.
• Stack list: every live stack of the region with status (green complete, amber in progress, red failed / rolled back), last update and description. Select one to load its event log and outputs; stacks that are in progress are followed automatically.
• Deploy panel: pick a bundled template or Load File... for your own, enter the stack name, Validate lists the template's parameters as Key=Value lines (values you already typed are kept), Deploy creates the stack or updates it when it exists. Allow IAM grants CAPABILITY_IAM / NAMED_IAM / AUTO_EXPAND.
• Selected stack: Follow events polls every Stack Poll Interval until the stack reaches a final status; Copy Outputs, Open in Console and Delete Stack... (with confirmation).

Bundled templates

The fleet template downloads ServerArchiveUrl (a .zip of the packaged LinuxServer folder, for example a presigned S3 URL) on every instance, unpacks it to /opt/server and runs <ServerTarget>.sh as a systemd service under a non-root user. The templates are plain YAML: copy one, change it and deploy it with Load File.

Docker images

Generate Dockerfile For Linux Server writes a Dockerfile for the packaged LinuxServer folder: Ubuntu base, a non-root ue user (Unreal servers refuse to run as root), executable bits restored (files copied from Windows lose them), EXPOSE of the game port, ENTRYPOINT = the server script and default arguments -log -port=7777 (ECS Command overrides them). Build And Push Image logs in to ECR, runs docker build --progress=plain --platform linux/amd64 and docker push; every output line arrives on On Output. The ECR password is written to Docker's standard input, never to a command line or a log.

Node reference (90 nodes)

Latent nodes (Latent) run in the background, can be stopped with Cancel and fire one final pin on the game thread (Wait For Stack, Deploy Stack and the Docker nodes also fire progress pins). Every Error output is an FCloudDeployerError (Code, Message, Http Status, Retryable). Cluster inputs take a name or ARN; empty = the settings' Default Cluster. Use the nodes in Editor Utility Blueprints and Editor Utility Widgets.

Config and identity

Stacks and change sets (CloudFormation)

ECR and Docker

ECS

EC2

Auto Scaling

Editor

Types

Settings

Project Settings > Plugins > CloudDeployer (saved per user).

Troubleshooting

Credits

© 2026 Alpha XP — alphaxp.net · Support: support@alphaxp.net. Includes the AWS SDK for C++ and the AWS Common Runtime (Apache License 2.0). Built for Unreal Engine 4.27 and 5.8.