Prerequisites
These are the minimum prerequisites to develop with Redwood locally. There are more when you're ready to deploy to a Kubernetes cluster (locally or in the cloud), but we recommend starting with just these to keep your development loop fast.
Node.js
Node.js runs the entire backend, the CLI, and the deployment scripts. You need it even if you have a Standard License and run the precompiled Dev Initiator: the Dev Initiator uses Node.js tooling (npx and Prisma) to create your local databases, and the CLI runs through Yarn.
Installing Node
Redwood 5.x requires Node.js v24. Other major versions aren't supported. (Redwood 4.x used Node.js v20; if you're upgrading, make sure you switch.)
While you can install Node.js v24 using the official installer from https://nodejs.org, we prefer to use NVM (Node Version Manager). Both work just fine; NVM just makes it easy to switch and upgrade your version of Node.js. If you want to use NVM but already have Node.js installed with the official installer, uninstall it first.
- NVM for Windows: https://github.com/coreybutler/nvm-windows/releases/latest and download/install
nvm-setup.exe - NVM for Mac/Linux: https://github.com/nvm-sh/nvm#install--update-script
Once you have NVM installed, install Node.js v24:
- Windows
- Mac/Linux
nvm install 24
nvm use 24
nvm install 24
The backend includes an .nvmrc file, so running nvm use in the RedwoodBackend folder will also pick the right version.
Then make sure you can use the node executable:
node --version
# v24.x.x
Yarn
The backend uses Yarn 4, which is installed through Corepack (a tool that ships with Node.js). You'll enable it during installation; you don't need to install Yarn separately.
Unreal Engine
Redwood supports Unreal Engine 5.4 and newer. If you already compile Unreal from source, use that. If you don't, you can start with the Epic Games Launcher installed build. You'll eventually need a source build to package Linux dedicated servers when you deploy to Kubernetes, but that can wait.
Your project needs to be a C++ project (it can still be almost entirely Blueprints). The Redwood plugins are C++ plugins, and dedicated servers require a C++ project with a Server target. If your project is Blueprint-only, add any C++ class via Tools > New C++ Class... to convert it.
C++ Compilation tools
You'll need software to compile C++ since our plugins are written in C++. Depending on your development OS, you have different options:
That's all of the prerequisites for now! You can now Install Redwood.