> For clean Markdown of any page, append .md to the page URL.
> For a complete documentation index, see https://docs.stereolabs.com/llms.txt.
> For AI client integration (Claude Code, Cursor, etc.), connect to the MCP server at https://docs.stereolabs.com/_mcp/server.

# Building ZED Live Link

# Deprecation Information

> **From the 4.1 version on, the Live Link senders can be built like any other ZED SDK sample.**
> **Refer to the [samples documentation](/docs/development/api-languages/samples) if you need guidance to build them.**

# Before 4.1

In the [Live Link for UE5](/docs/integrations/live-link/live-link-for-unreal-engine-5) page, we explained how to animate an avatar on Unreal using the pre-compiled ZED Live Link sample executable.

A pre-built `ZEDLiveLink` sender for the current SDK version is located in `zed-livelink-fusion (or mono)/Releases/your system/`.

However, you might prefer to directly manipulate the ZED Live Link sample code and make some modifications to it. To do so, you must compile the **ZED Live Link** sample from source.

* First, download the latest version of the ZED SDK on [stereolabs.com](https://www.stereolabs.com/developers/)
* For more information, read the ZED [Documentation](/) and [API documentation](https://www.stereolabs.com/docs/api/)

To compile the tool from source, you will require a source build of Unreal Engine.

## Download the Engine

To gain access to the UE engine code, please follow the steps below:

1. Create an account at GitHub: [Sign up](https://github.com/join)
2. Create an account at Epic Games: [Sign up](https://accounts.epicgames.com/login)
3. Log in to your Epic Games account and associate your GitHub account in the settings by entering your username into the GitHub account field.
4. Log in to your GitHub account and accept the Epic team invitation\* (can take a few seconds to appear).
5. Download or clone the [UE5 engine](https://github.com/EpicGames/UnrealEngine/tree/release) code.

> **Note**
>
> The link above will result in a 404 error if your GitHub account is not linked to an Epic Games one. Make sure to follow all the instructions above.
>
> \*If the invitation isn't sent, clicking on the following link seems to trigger it: [Unreal Group](https://github.com/orgs/EpicGames).

## Build for Windows

1. Inside the Engine root directory, run **Setup.bat**. This will check all the project dependencies and update them as needed.
2. Clone the ZED Live Link repository inside `<Engine Install Folder>\Engine\Source\Programs\`.
3. Run **GenerateProjectFiles.bat** in the Unreal Engine root directory to create project files for the Engine.
4. Load the project into Visual Studio by double-clicking on the `UE5.sln` file, in the Unreal Engine root directory, then right click on the **ZEDLiveLink** target and select **Build**.

* You will find the `ZEDLiveLink` target (and its counterpart `ZEDLiveLinkFusion`) under `Solution UE5/Programs/LiveLink/` in the Solution Explorer.

5. The binaries will be placed in `<Engine Install Folder>\Engine\Binaries\Win64\ZEDLiveLink\` and `<Engine Install Folder>\Engine\Binaries\Win64\ZEDLiveLinkFusion\`.

## Build for Linux

1. Go inside the Engine root directory and run **Setup.sh** from the terminal. This will check all the project dependencies and update them as needed.

2. Clone the ZED Live Link repository inside `<Engine Install Folder>/Engine/Source/Programs`.

3. In the Engine root directory, run **GenerateProjectFiles.sh**.

4. Run **make** to build the Engine.

5. Go to `<Engine Install Folder>/Engine/Build/BatchFiles` and open a terminal.

6. Build the sample with the following command.

   * For the mono camera sample:

   ```bash
   ./RunUAT.sh BuildGraph -Script=Engine/Source/Programs/zed-livelink/zed-livelink-mono/BuildZEDLinux.xml -Target="Stage ZEDLiveLink Linux"
   ```

   * For the fusion sample:

   ```bash
   ./RunUAT.sh BuildGraph -Script=Engine/Source/Programs/zed-livelink/zed-livelink-fusion/BuildZEDLinux.xml -Target="Stage ZEDLiveLinkFusion Linux"
   ```

7. The binaries will be placed in `<Engine Install Folder>/Engine/Binaries/Linux/ZEDLiveLink/` for the mono camera sample
   and in `<Engine Install Folder>/Engine/Binaries/Linux/ZEDLiveLinkFusion/` for the fusion/multi-cameras sample.