Developer Guide

Architecture Overview

The Python Script Editor is structured as a standard Unreal Engine plugin with clear separation of concerns:

Core Components

• PythonScriptEditorModule: Main plugin module
• PythonScriptEditorSettings: Settings management
• PythonScriptEditorCommands: Editor commands
• PythonScriptEditorStyle: UI styling

Key Classes

• SPythonScriptEditorWindow: Main editor window
• SPythonTextEditor: Text editing component
• SOutputLogPanel: Output display
• PythonSyntaxMarshaller: Syntax highlighting

Environment Variables

• UE_PYTHONSCRIPTEDITOR_PYTHON_API_URL
  • Default: https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/unreal-engine/python-api/
  • Purpose: Points to Python API documentation
• UE_PYTHONSCRIPTEDITOR_DOC_URL
  • Default: https://minimalefforttech.github.io/UnrealPythonScriptEditor/
  • Purpose: Points to the official script editor documentation (This site)

Building from Source

1. Clone the repository
2. Copy to your project’s Plugins directory
3. Regenerate project files
4. Build the project

Settings System

The PythonScriptEditorSettings class manages:

• Editor preferences
• Font sizes (8-72)
• User data directory
• Tab persistence
• Snippets storage

Default Paths

Default user data path: [ProjectContent]/PythonScriptEditor/

• Recommended to change this in production

Contributing Guidelines

1. Follow Unreal Engine coding standards
2. Add proper documentation for new features
3. Include unit tests where applicable
4. Update architecture decision records (ADRs)

Plugin Structure

Source/
├── Private/
│   ├── Core/                   # Core plugin functionality
│   │   ├── PythonScriptEvaluator.h   # Python execution engine
│   │   └── ScriptRegistry.h          # Script management
│   ├── Components/            # Reusable UI components
│   │   ├── STabWidget.h      # Custom tab management system
│   │   └── SInteractiveEditableText.h # Base for I/O panels
│   ├── Dialogs/              # Modal windows and dialogs
│   │   ├── Settings/         # Settings UI
│   │   └── About/            # About dialog
│   ├── Interfaces/           # Plugin interfaces
│   │   ├── IPythonRunner.h   # Python execution interface
│   │   └── ISettingsProvider.h # Settings management
│   ├── Marshallers/          # Data conversion and formatting
│   │   ├── SyntaxHighlight/  # Syntax highlighting
│   │   └── OutputFormatter/   # Output formatting
│   └── Widgets/              # Main UI widgets
│       ├── SPythonTextEditor.h # Main editor (links to PythonScriptEvaluator)
│       └── SOutputLogPanel.h   # Output display
└── Public/                    # Public API
    ├── PythonScriptEditorDefs.h
    └── PythonScriptEditorModule.h

Component Architecture

Main Window Structure

• SPythonScriptEditorWindow
  • Main container for all editor components
  • Manages layout and component communication
  • Handles window state and persistence
  • Contains:
    • Tab management system (STabWidget)
    • Editor instances (SPythonTextEditor)
    • Output panel (SOutputLogPanel)
    • Toolbar and menu systems

Key Component Relationships

SPythonScriptEditorWindow
├── Toolbar
├── SOutputLogPanel
└── STabWidget (Tab Container)
  └── Multiple SPythonTextEditor instances

• SPythonTextEditor
  • Primary editor interface
  • Integrates with PythonScriptEvaluator for code execution
  • Uses SyntaxMarshaller for highlighting
• STabWidget
  • Independent tab management system
  • Handles multiple editor instances
  • Maintains tab state outside UE tab system
• SInteractiveEditableText
  • Base component for input/output panels
  • Handles text input and history
  • Used by both editor and output panels

Execution Flow

1. User input captured in SPythonTextEditor
2. Code passed to PythonScriptEvaluator
3. Results processed through OutputFormatter
4. Display updated via SOutputLogPanel