/ue-testing-debugging

UE Testing, Logging & Profiling

Target engine: UE 5.8. APIs below are verified against the 5.8 headers; older forms are listed under "Deprecated — do not use".

This skill owns logging, assertions, automation/functional testing, console commands and performance profiling for the repo. Logging, assertions, stats, trace and CVars live in Core (Logging/, Misc/AssertionMacros.h, Stats/Stats.h, ProfilingDebugging/, HAL/IConsoleManager.h). Debug drawing, the Visual Logger and AHUD::ShowDebug live in Engine. Test frameworks are the developer modules AutomationController, CQTest, FunctionalTesting and AutomationDriver; the Gameplay Debugger is the runtime module GameplayDebugger.

Context

Read .agents/ue-project-context.md if it exists (module names, conventions, enabled plugins, GAS/networking setup). Do not stop if it is missing. Identify the area from the request and the codebase; ask only when two plausible readings would produce different code.

Logging

Declaring categories

#include "Logging/LogMacros.h"
// MyGameLogging.h — DECLARE_LOG_CATEGORY_EXTERN(Name, DefaultVerbosity, CompileTimeVerbosity)
DECLARE_LOG_CATEGORY_EXTERN(LogMyGame, Log, All);

DEFINE_LOG_CATEGORY(LogMyGame);   // MyGameLogging.cpp

DefaultVerbosity must be <= CompileTimeVerbosity or the static_assert inside the category macro fires. Anything above CompileTimeVerbosity is deleted by the compiler, so DECLARE_LOG_CATEGORY_EXTERN(LogMyGame, Log, Log) removes every Verbose/VeryVerbose call site. Monolithic builds can cap all categories at once by defining COMPILED_IN_MINIMUM_VERBOSITY.

Verbosity levels

ELogVerbosity::All is an alias for VeryVerbose and is the usual CompileTimeVerbosity argument.

Emitting

UE_LOG(LogMyGame, Display, TEXT("Player %s spawned"), *PlayerName);
UE_LOG(LogMyGame, Warning, TEXT("Inventory full, dropped %s"), *ItemName);
UE_LOG(LogMyGame, Error,   TEXT("Failed to load asset %s"), *AssetPath);
UE_LOG(LogMyGame, Fatal,   TEXT("Save data unrecoverable"));   // crashes

// Condition and arguments are evaluated only when the category is active.
UE_CLOG(Health <= 0.f, LogMyGame, Warning, TEXT("%s has zero health"), *GetName());

Wrap an expensive report in if (UE_LOG_ACTIVE(LogMyGame, Verbose)) { … } so the work itself is skipped, not just the formatting.

Structured logging

UE_LOGFMT emits named fields that survive into Insights and log analysis; use {Name} placeholders, not %s.

#include "Logging/StructuredLog.h"

// Named fields: order is irrelevant, extra fields are allowed.
UE_LOGFMT(LogMyGame, Warning, "Loading '{Name}' failed with error {Error}",
    ("Name", AssetName), ("Error", ErrorCode), ("Flags", LoadFlags));

// Positional fields: the values must match the placeholders exactly.
UE_LOGFMT(LogMyGame, Display, "Spawned {Count} actors in {Seconds}s", SpawnCount, Elapsed);
UE_CLOGFMT(bFailed, LogMyGame, Error, "Retry {Attempt} failed", ("Attempt", Attempt));

Field names must match [A-Za-z0-9_]+ and be unique per event; values serialize through SerializeForLog or operator<<(FCbWriter&, T). UE_LOGFMT takes at most 16 fields — use UE_LOGFMT_EX with UE_LOGFMT_FIELD / UE_LOGFMT_VALUE beyond that.

Shipping and Test builds

NO_LOGGING is !USE_LOGGING_IN_SHIPPING in both Test and Shipping, and 0 in Debug and Development. Under NO_LOGGING, UE_LOG/UE_CLOG/UE_LOGFMT collapse to a Fatal-only path: every non-fatal call disappears, arguments included. Set bUseLoggingInShipping = true; in MyGame.Target.cs to define USE_LOGGING_IN_SHIPPING=1 and get logging back.

Controlling verbosity at runtime

-LogCmds="LogMyGame Verbose, LogNet Warning"   # command line, applied at boot
Log list [Filter]       # every category with its current verbosity
Log LogMyGame Verbose   # raise one category
Log global none         # silence everything
Log reset               # restore defaults

From code use UE_SET_LOG_VERBOSITY(LogMyGame, Verbose); from config use [Core.Log] in DefaultEngine.ini.

Assertions

All in Misc/AssertionMacros.h. Choose by who is wrong: check for programmer error, ensure for a recoverable surprise worth reporting, a plain if for user or data input.

check(Component != nullptr);
checkf(Index >= 0 && Index < Items.Num(), TEXT("Index %d out of [0,%d)"), Index, Items.Num());
checkNoEntry();                             // unreachable branch
checkNoReentry();                           // must not be entered twice
checkSlow(ValidateExpensiveInvariant());    // Debug only
verify(Manager->Initialize());              // expression ALWAYS evaluated

if (ensure(Component != nullptr))
{
    Component->Activate();                  // ensure() returns the condition
}
ensureMsgf(Health > 0.f, TEXT("%s has health %.1f"), *GetName(), Health);
ensureAlways(bInitialized);                 // reports every failure, not just the first

ensure/ensureMsgf report once per call site per session; ensureAlways/ensureAlwaysMsgf report every time. All four return the condition, so they compose with if.

USE_CHECKS_IN_SHIPPING defaults to 0 and is set by bUseChecksInShipping in the target rules, so Test builds also strip check and ensure by default. When DO_CHECK is 0, check(expr) degrades to CA_ASSUME(expr) and the expression is never evaluated; verify(expr) still evaluates it and only drops the halt.

Automation Tests

Test sources live in a Private/Tests folder of the module under test, or in a dedicated test module. Wrap each test file in #if WITH_DEV_AUTOMATION_TESTS (or WITH_AUTOMATION_TESTS = WITH_DEV_AUTOMATION_TESTS || WITH_PERF_AUTOMATION_TESTS) — the IMPLEMENT_* macros alone still compile the class, they only skip registration when WITH_AUTOMATION_WORKER is 0 (Misc/AutomationTest.h:4366); UBT turns both on for every configuration except Test and Shipping, overridable with bForceCompileDevelopmentAutomationTests, bForceCompilePerformanceAutomationTests and bForceDisableAutomationTests (UEBuildTarget.cs:6309-6325). Module and target wiring, the full pattern library and the command lines for running tests are in references/automation-test-patterns.md.

// Source/MyGame/Private/Tests/MyInventoryTest.cpp — whole file inside #if WITH_DEV_AUTOMATION_TESTS
#include "Misc/AutomationTest.h"
#include "MyInventoryComponent.h"

IMPLEMENT_SIMPLE_AUTOMATION_TEST(FMyInventoryAddTest, "MyGame.Inventory.AddItem",
    EAutomationTestFlags::EditorContext | EAutomationTestFlags::ProductFilter)

bool FMyInventoryAddTest::RunTest(const FString& Parameters)
{
    UMyInventoryComponent* Inv = NewObject<UMyInventoryComponent>(GetTransientPackage());
    UE_RETURN_ON_ERROR(Inv != nullptr, TEXT("Inventory created"));

    Inv->AddItem(FName("Sword"), 1);
    TestEqual(TEXT("Count after add"), Inv->GetItemCount(FName("Sword")), 1);
    TestTrue(TEXT("Has sword"), Inv->HasItem(FName("Sword")));
    TestFalse(TEXT("No axe"), Inv->HasItem(FName("Axe")));
    return true;
}

IMPLEMENT_COMPLEX_AUTOMATION_TEST adds virtual void GetTests(TArray<FString>& OutBeautifiedNames, TArray<FString>& OutTestCommands) const and runs RunTest once per entry. IMPLEMENT_CUSTOM_SIMPLE_AUTOMATION_TEST(TClass, TBaseClass, PrettyName, TFlags) declares a simple test whose base is a shared fixture you derive from FAutomationTestBase.

Flags

EAutomationTestFlags is an enum class with ENUM_CLASS_FLAGS, so combine with |. Two static_asserts enforce at least one context flag and exactly one filter flag.

EAutomationTestFlags_ApplicationContextMask covers every context flag in one token.

Assertions inside a test

TestEqual(TEXT("Label"), Actual, Expected);              // int32/int64/SIZE_T/FName/FText/FString/FStringView…
TestEqual(TEXT("Approx"), ActualF, ExpectedF, 0.001f);   // float/double/FVector/FRotator/FTransform take a tolerance
TestTrue(TEXT("Label"), bCondition);                     // also TestFalse, TestNotEqual
TestNotNull(TEXT("Label"), Ptr);                         // also TestNull, TestSamePtr, TestNotSamePtr
TestValid(TEXT("Label"), SharedOrWeakPtr);               // also TestInvalid

AddError(FString::Printf(TEXT("Unexpected damage %d"), Damage));   // also AddWarning, AddInfo
AddErrorIfFalse(bOk, TEXT("Setup failed"));
UE_RETURN_ON_ERROR(Ptr != nullptr, TEXT("Ptr must not be null")); // adds error, returns false

// Expect (and swallow) a log line the code under test is supposed to emit.
AddExpectedMessage(TEXT("Inventory is full"), ELogVerbosity::Warning,
                   EAutomationExpectedMessageFlags::Contains);

The pattern is a regex unless you use the …Plain variants (AddExpectedMessagePlain, AddExpectedErrorPlain). AddExpectedError(Pattern, MatchType, Occurrences, bIsRegex) is the shorthand that matches warnings and errors (it forwards ELogVerbosity::Warning, which is inclusive); the AddExpectedMessage overload without a verbosity matches every severity.

Latent commands

RunTest returns before latent commands run. Enqueue them, then let Update() return true when the step is finished. Enqueuing after return true; is unreachable code.

DEFINE_LATENT_AUTOMATION_COMMAND_ONE_PARAMETER(FMyWaitSecondsCommand, float, Duration);
bool FMyWaitSecondsCommand::Update()
{
    return GetCurrentRunTime() >= Duration;
}

ADD_LATENT_AUTOMATION_COMMAND(FMyWaitSecondsCommand(2.0f));   // inside RunTest, before `return true;`

DEFINE_LATENT_AUTOMATION_COMMAND through ..._FIVE_PARAMETER exist. To assert after the wait, derive from IAutomationLatentCommand and capture the FAutomationTestBase*.

Specs

BEGIN_DEFINE_SPEC(TClass, PrettyName, TFlags) / member declarations / END_DEFINE_SPEC(TClass) declares a BDD-style test whose body is void TClass::Define(). Inside Define() use Describe, It, LatentIt, BeforeEach, LatentBeforeEach, AfterEach (and xIt/xDescribe to disable a block). DEFINE_SPEC(TClass, PrettyName, TFlags) replaces the pair when the spec needs no members. Worked example in references/automation-test-patterns.md.

CQTest

CQTest (module CQTest) is the fixture-based front end over the same framework. Assert is a FNoDiscardAsserter, so every assertion goes through ASSERT_THAT, which returns from the method on failure.

#include "CQTest.h"

TEST_CLASS(FMyInventoryTests, "MyGame.Inventory")
{
    UMyInventoryComponent* Inventory = nullptr;

    BEFORE_EACH() { Inventory = NewObject<UMyInventoryComponent>(GetTransientPackage()); }

    TEST_METHOD(AddItem_WhenEmpty_StoresOne)
    {
        Inventory->AddItem(FName("Sword"), 1);
        ASSERT_THAT(AreEqual(1, Inventory->GetItemCount(FName("Sword"))));
    }

    TEST_METHOD_WITH_TAGS(AddItem_WhenFull_Rejects, "[Slow][Inventory]")
    {
        Inventory->SetCapacity(0);
        ASSERT_THAT(IsFalse(Inventory->AddItem(FName("Sword"), 1)));
    }
};

TEST_CLASS(ClassName, TestDir) uses FNoDiscardAsserter and DefaultFlags (EAutomationTestFlags_ApplicationContextMask | EAutomationTestFlags::ProductFilter). Variants: TEST_CLASS_WITH_FLAGS(ClassName, TestDir, Flags), TEST_CLASS_WITH_TAGS, TEST_CLASS_WITH_BASE, TEST_CLASS_WITH_ASSERTS. Lifecycle macros are BEFORE_ALL()/AFTER_ALL() (static, once per fixture) and BEFORE_EACH()/AFTER_EACH() (override Setup()/TearDown()). Asserter helpers: IsTrue, IsFalse, IsNull, IsNotNull, AreEqual, AreNotEqual, AreEqualIgnoreCase, AreNotEqualIgnoreCase, IsNear(Expected, Actual, Epsilon) — each also takes a trailing failure message.

World, actor and async helpers (TestCommandBuilder, FSpawnHelper, FActorTestSpawner, FMapTestSpawner, TObjectBuilder, UTestGameInstance) are covered in references/automation-test-patterns.md.

Functional Tests

AFunctionalTest (module FunctionalTesting) is an actor placed in a test map. PrepareTest, StartTest, IsReady_Implementation and OnTimeout are protected virtuals; FinishTest and the Assert* helpers are public.

// MyFunctionalTest.h
#pragma once
#include "CoreMinimal.h"
#include "FunctionalTest.h"
#include "MyFunctionalTest.generated.h"

UCLASS()
class MYGAME_API AMyFunctionalTest : public AFunctionalTest
{
    GENERATED_BODY()

protected:
    // PrepareTest() sets TimeLimit / PreparationTimeLimit; IsReady_Implementation()
    // gates StartTest(); StartTest() asserts and calls FinishTest().
    virtual void PrepareTest() override;
    virtual bool IsReady_Implementation() override;
    virtual void StartTest() override;

private:
    UPROPERTY(EditInstanceOnly, Category = "MyGame")
    TObjectPtr<AActor> TargetActor;
};

Each override calls Super:: first. FinishTest(EFunctionalTestResult TestResult, const FString& Message) ends the run; EFunctionalTestResult is Default, Invalid, Error, Running, Failed, Succeeded, and Default lets the recorded assertions decide. Assertions are AssertTrue/AssertFalse (bool Condition, const FString& Message, const UObject* ContextObject = nullptr), AssertIsValid(UObject*, const FString&, const UObject* = nullptr), AssertEqual_Int/Float/Bool/Name/Object/Vector/Rotator/Transform/Quat and AssertValue_Int/Float/Double/DateTime (with an EComparisonMethod). Also TimeLimit, PreparationTimeLimit, SetTimeLimit(float, EFunctionalTestResult), LogMessage(const FString&) and StartStep/FinishStep. Full .cpp in references/automation-test-patterns.md.

Run every functional test in the current world with the Blueprint node UFunctionalTestingManager::RunAllFunctionalTests(WorldContextObject, bNewLog, bRunLooped, FailedTestsReproString) (the class is MinimalAPI and the function is not FUNCTIONALTESTING_API, so calling it from another module's C++ does not link), or from the command line:

UnrealEditor-Cmd.exe MyGame.uproject -ExecCmds="Automation RunTests MyGame.Functional" -unattended -nopause -testexit="Automation Test Queue Empty" -log

Automation also accepts List, RunTest, RunFilter <Filter>, RunAll, SetFilter, SetPriority, SetMinimumPriority, Quit and SoftQuit; chain them with ;.

Profiling

Full command tables, the CSV and LLM workflows and the bottleneck-triage procedure are in references/profiling-commands.md.

Unreal Insights

# Capture at launch
UnrealEditor.exe MyGame.uproject -trace=cpu,frame,bookmark,counters,gpu,loadtime,log -tracehost=127.0.0.1
UnrealEditor.exe MyGame.uproject -trace=cpu,frame -tracefile=MyCapture.utrace

# Or from the console, mid-session
Trace.File D:/Captures/Run1.utrace cpu,frame,bookmark    # or Trace.Send 127.0.0.1 cpu,frame
Trace.Enable counters
Trace.Bookmark WaveStarted
Trace.Stop                    # also Trace.Pause, Trace.Resume, Trace.Status

Channel names drop the Channel suffix and lowercase: cpu, gpu, frame, bookmark, counters, log, loadtime, task, memalloc, callstack, module, metadata, net, rhicommands, rendercommands, slate, assetmetadata, iostore, animation, region, screenshot.

Instrumenting code

#include "Stats/Stats.h"                              // DECLARE_*_STAT, SCOPE_CYCLE_COUNTER
#include "HAL/PlatformMisc.h"                         // SCOPED_NAMED_EVENT
#include "ProfilingDebugging/CpuProfilerTrace.h"      // TRACE_CPUPROFILER_EVENT_SCOPE
#include "ProfilingDebugging/MiscTrace.h"             // TRACE_BOOKMARK
#include "ProfilingDebugging/CountersTrace.h"         // TRACE_*_COUNTER, TRACE_INT_VALUE
#include "ProfilingDebugging/CsvProfiler.h"           // CSV_*
#include "ProfilingDebugging/ScopedTimers.h"          // FScopedDurationTimer

DECLARE_STATS_GROUP(TEXT("MyGame"), STATGROUP_MyGame, STATCAT_Advanced);
DECLARE_CYCLE_STAT(TEXT("MyGame Tick"), STAT_MyGameTick, STATGROUP_MyGame);
CSV_DEFINE_CATEGORY(MyGame, true);
TRACE_DECLARE_INT_COUNTER(MyGameActiveEnemies, TEXT("MyGame/ActiveEnemies"));

void UMySubsystem::Tick(float DeltaTime)
{
    SCOPE_CYCLE_COUNTER(STAT_MyGameTick);              // stat system + Insights
    TRACE_CPUPROFILER_EVENT_SCOPE(UMySubsystem::Tick); // Insights only, very cheap
    CSV_SCOPED_TIMING_STAT(MyGame, SubsystemTick);     // one CSV column
    SCOPED_NAMED_EVENT(MyGame_Tick, FColor::Orange);   // also visible to PIX/Razor

    TRACE_COUNTER_SET(MyGameActiveEnemies, ActiveEnemyCount);
    CSV_CUSTOM_STAT(MyGame, Enemies, ActiveEnemyCount, ECsvCustomStatOp::Set);
}

void UMySubsystem::BeginWave(int32 WaveNumber)
{
    TRACE_BOOKMARK(TEXT("WaveStarted_%d"), WaveNumber);  // vertical marker in Insights
    CSV_EVENT(MyGame, TEXT("WaveStarted"));

    double LoadSeconds = 0.0;
    {
        FScopedDurationTimer Timer(LoadSeconds);        // accumulates into LoadSeconds
        LoadWaveAssets(WaveNumber);
    }
    UE_LOGFMT(LogMyGame, Display, "Wave {Wave} loaded in {Seconds}s",
        ("Wave", WaveNumber), ("Seconds", LoadSeconds));
}

QUICK_SCOPE_CYCLE_COUNTER(STAT_MyAdHocScope) declares a stat inline for a one-off measurement; TRACE_INT_VALUE(TEXT("MyGame/Spawned"), Count) and TRACE_FLOAT_VALUE emit a counter with no declaration; SCOPED_NAMED_EVENT_TEXT("Name", FColor::Yellow) takes a literal and SCOPED_NAMED_EVENT_F formats one.

stat commands

stat unit first: it splits frame time into Game, Draw, RHIT and GPU. Then drill into the dominant thread with stat game, stat scenerendering, stat initviews, stat slate, stat threading, stat streaming, stat net, or stat MyGame for your own group. stat unitgraph plots the same numbers over time, stat fps shows frame rate, stat hitches flags spikes, stat namedevents emits stat names as profiler events for external tools.

Memory

stat memory / stat memoryplatform    # engine categories / OS physical and virtual
memreport -full                      # dump to Saved/Profiling/MemReports
obj list class=Texture2D             # loaded objects of a class, with sizes

Launch with -LLM and -trace=memalloc,callstack,module for Memory Insights; scope allocations with LLM_SCOPE(ELLMTag::EngineMisc) or a custom tag declared via LLM_DEFINE_TAG/LLM_DECLARE_TAG and entered with LLM_SCOPE_BYTAG. On Windows, non-editor builds default to MallocBinned3; override with -binnedmalloc2, -binnedmalloc, -ansimalloc or -stompmalloc.

Hitch capture and UObject count

snapshothitches -start arms an automatic trace snapshot whenever the stats system detects a hitch; snapshothitches -stop disarms it. It needs STATS and a non-Shipping build, and disables the Screenshot channel while armed so a stale screenshot cannot land in the snapshot tail.

Compiling with CSV_TRACK_UOBJECT_COUNT=1 (with CSV profiling enabled) records the live UObject count every frame as CSV stat Total in category ObjectCount, read from UObjectStats::GetUObjectCount(). Use it to catch object leaks over a long session without a full memory capture.

Debug Visualization

Debug drawing

Everything in DrawDebugHelpers.h sits behind ENABLE_DRAW_DEBUG, which is UE_ENABLE_DEBUG_DRAWING = (!(UE_BUILD_SHIPPING || UE_BUILD_TEST) || WITH_EDITOR). In Test or Shipping game builds they become empty inline stubs (DrawDebugHelpers.h:180-185; defining SHIPPING_DRAW_DEBUG_ERROR=1 removes them so stray calls fail to compile), but arguments are still evaluated — wrap expensive call sites in #if ENABLE_DRAW_DEBUG.

#include "DrawDebugHelpers.h"

// LifeTime: -1 (default) or 0 draws one frame; > 0 is seconds.
// bPersistentLines = true keeps the shape until FlushPersistentDebugLines.
UWorld* World = GetWorld();
DrawDebugLine(World, Start, End, FColor::Red, false, 2.0f, 0, 2.0f);
DrawDebugPoint(World, Location, 8.0f, FColor::White, false, 2.0f, 0);
DrawDebugDirectionalArrow(World, Start, End, 40.0f, FColor::Cyan, false, 2.0f, 0, 2.0f);
DrawDebugBox(World, Center, Extent, FQuat::Identity, FColor::Blue, false, 2.0f, 0, 1.0f);
DrawDebugSphere(World, Center, 100.0f, 12, FColor::Green, false, 2.0f, 0, 1.0f);
DrawDebugCapsule(World, Center, 88.0f, 34.0f, FQuat::Identity, FColor::Yellow, false, 2.0f, 0, 1.0f);
DrawDebugString(World, Location, TEXT("Label"), nullptr, FColor::White, 2.0f, true, 1.0f);
FlushPersistentDebugLines(World);   // and FlushDebugStrings(World)

The Blueprint-facing UKismetSystemLibrary::DrawDebugLine/Arrow/Sphere/Capsule/String gate themselves, take FLinearColor and an EDrawDebugSceneDepthPriorityGroup, and are joined by PrintString(WorldContextObject, InString, bPrintToScreen, bPrintToLog, TextColor, Duration, Key).

Visual Logger

ENABLE_VISUAL_LOG is PLATFORM_DESKTOP && !NO_LOGGING && UE_ENABLE_DEBUG_DRAWING. Open the timeline with Window > Visual Logger.

#include "VisualLogger/VisualLogger.h"

UE_VLOG(this, LogMyGame, Log, TEXT("State: %s"), *StateName);
UE_VLOG_UELOG(this, LogMyGame, Warning, TEXT("Lost target %s"), *TargetName);  // also hits UE_LOG
UE_VLOG_LOCATION(this, LogMyGame, Verbose, GetActorLocation(), 20.0f, FColor::Green, TEXT("Here"));
UE_VLOG_SEGMENT(this, LogMyGame, Log, PathStart, PathEnd, FColor::Red, TEXT("Path"));
UE_VLOG_SPHERE(this, LogMyGame, Verbose, PatrolPoint, 50.0f, FColor::Blue, TEXT("Patrol"));
UE_VLOG_ARROW(this, LogMyGame, Log, GetActorLocation(), AimPoint, FColor::Yellow, TEXT("Aim"));  // also _BOX, _CAPSULE
UE_CVLOG(bIsAlerted, this, LogMyGame, Log, TEXT("Alerted"));   // also UE_CVLOG_SEGMENT, UE_CVLOG_LOCATION

FVisualLogger::Get().SetIsRecording(true);       // and SetIsRecordingToFile / SetIsRecordingToTrace

Every macro early-outs on FVisualLogger::IsRecording(), so the arguments cost nothing when recording is off.

Gameplay Debugger and ShowDebug

Press ' in PIE. Register a category from your module's StartupModule (add "GameplayDebugger" to PrivateDependencyModuleNames; wrap the registration and the category class in #if WITH_GAMEPLAY_DEBUGGER, which is 0 in Test/Shipping game builds by default — GameplayDebuggerCategory.h:10-11, TargetRules.cs:1125):

#include "GameplayDebugger.h"   // in FMyGameModule::StartupModule()
if (IGameplayDebugger::IsAvailable())
{
    IGameplayDebugger& Debugger = IGameplayDebugger::Get();
    Debugger.RegisterCategory(TEXT("MyGame"),
        IGameplayDebugger::FOnGetCategory::CreateStatic(&FMyDebuggerCategory::MakeInstance),
        EGameplayDebuggerCategoryState::EnabledInGame);
    Debugger.NotifyCategoriesChanged();
}

FMyDebuggerCategory derives from FGameplayDebuggerCategory and overrides virtual void CollectData(APlayerController* OwnerPC, AActor* DebugActor) and virtual void DrawData(APlayerController* OwnerPC, FGameplayDebuggerCanvasContext& CanvasContext), feeding them with AddTextLine and AddShape. Call UnregisterCategory(TEXT("MyGame")) in ShutdownModule.

AHUD::ShowDebug(FName DebugType) toggles a named debug page (ShowDebug AI, ShowDebug Physics); ShowDebugToggleSubCategory(FName) toggles a sub-page and ShowDebugForReticleTargetToggle(TSubclassOf<AActor>) retargets it at whatever the reticle is over. Override virtual void ShowDebugInfo(float& YL, float& YPos) or bind AHUD::OnShowDebugInfo for your own page. The separate display, displayall and displayclear console commands print a named property of an object or class onto the HUD.

Console Commands and CVars

// In the AMyPlayerController class body. Exec works on PlayerController, Pawn, HUD,
// GameMode, GameState, CheatManager (or a UCheatManagerExtension) and GameInstance.
UFUNCTION(Exec)
void ToggleGodMode();

// MyGameDebug.cpp — console objects register at static init
#include "HAL/IConsoleManager.h"

static FAutoConsoleCommand GMyDumpStatsCmd(
    TEXT("MyGame.DumpStats"), TEXT("Dump gameplay stats"),
    FConsoleCommandDelegate::CreateStatic(&FMyStatsDumper::Dump));

// World + args; prefer this for anything that touches gameplay in PIE.
static FAutoConsoleCommandWithWorldAndArgs GMySpawnItemCmd(
    TEXT("MyGame.SpawnItem"), TEXT("Usage: MyGame.SpawnItem <Name>"),
    FConsoleCommandWithWorldAndArgsDelegate::CreateStatic(&FMySpawner::SpawnFromConsole));

static TAutoConsoleVariable<float> CVarMyDamageScale(
    TEXT("MyGame.DamageScale"), 1.0f, TEXT("Scales all outgoing damage."), ECVF_Cheat);

// FAutoConsoleVariableRef binds a console name to an existing int32/float/bool/FString/FName.
static float GMyDrawDistance = 5000.0f;
static FAutoConsoleVariableRef CVarMyDrawDistance(
    TEXT("MyGame.DrawDistance"), GMyDrawDistance, TEXT("Gameplay draw distance."), ECVF_Default);

Read a CVar with GetValueOnGameThread(), GetValueOnRenderThread() or GetValueOnAnyThread(). Common flags: ECVF_Default, ECVF_Cheat (disabled on shipping targets), ECVF_ReadOnly, ECVF_Scalability, ECVF_RenderThreadSafe. When a command's lifetime is tied to an object, register at runtime with IConsoleManager::Get().RegisterConsoleCommand(Name, Help, Delegate) and release the returned IConsoleCommand* with IConsoleManager::Get().UnregisterConsoleObject(Cmd).

Deprecated — do not use

Common Mistakes

Assuming Test builds keep check/ensure: DO_CHECK and DO_ENSURE are USE_CHECKS_IN_SHIPPING / USE_ENSURES_IN_SHIPPING in both Test and Shipping, and both default to 0. Use verify() when the expression must always run, or set bUseChecksInShipping.

Logic inside a log or assert: UE_LOG(LogMyGame, Log, TEXT("%d"), AdvanceCounter()); stops advancing once NO_LOGGING is on, and check(Init()) stops initializing once DO_CHECK is 0. Compute into a local first, then log or assert on it.

Using Log and expecting console output: Display prints to the console; Log only reaches the log file. "My log line never appears" is almost always a Log-verbosity message.

Missing filter flag: every IMPLEMENT_*_AUTOMATION_TEST, DEFINE_SPEC and BEGIN_DEFINE_SPEC needs exactly one of SmokeFilter/EngineFilter/ProductFilter/PerfFilter/StressFilter/NegativeFilter plus at least one context flag, or the static_assert fails to compile.

Dropping a CQTest assertion result: the asserter methods are [[nodiscard]], so Assert.IsTrue(x); warns and keeps running after a failure. Always write ASSERT_THAT(IsTrue(x));.

DrawDebug* in a Shipping or Test game build: the calls become no-op stubs but their arguments (traces, string formatting) still run. Wrap the whole block in #if ENABLE_DRAW_DEBUG.

Skipping Super::StartTest(): AFunctionalTest::StartTest fires the Blueprint ReceiveStartTest event, so omitting Super:: silently disables every Blueprint-authored step in the same test actor.

Related Skills

• ue-cpp-foundations — UObject basics, delegates, containers, the UFUNCTION/UPROPERTY specifier tables
• ue-module-build-system — Build.cs and Target.cs wiring, bBuildDeveloperTools, test module setup, plugin layout
• ue-editor-tools — editor utilities, commandlets and Slate tooling that host test and debug UI
• ue-physics-collision — trace and sweep queries whose results you visualize with DrawDebug*
• ue-ai-navigation — behaviour trees, EQS and the AI-side Gameplay Debugger categories
• ue-async-threading — task graph and async work that latent commands and the task trace channel observe
• ue-gameplay-framework — GameMode, PlayerController, HUD and CheatManager, the hosts for Exec functions
• ue-materials-rendering — material instances, parameter collections, render targets and post process