Epic Games Store Deployment¶

Summary: Builds are uploaded to the Epic Games Store using the standalone BuildPatchTool (BPT). The Live label activates a build within its sandbox scope. Dev and release builds both upload automatically, while a standalone workflow allows manual uploads of existing builds.

Architecture Overview¶

┌─────────────────────┐       ┌──────────────────────┐       ┌──────────────┐
│  Packaged Build     │       │  BuildPatchTool       │       │  Epic Games  │
│  C:\BuildArtifacts\ │──────▶│  UploadBinary         │──────▶│  Store       │
│  <run_number>\      │       │  LabelBinary          │       │  Dev Portal  │
└─────────────────────┘       └──────────────────────┘       └──────────────┘
                                       │
                                       │ credentials
                                       ▼
                              ┌──────────────────────┐
                              │  GitHub Secrets       │
                              │  EGS_ORGANIZATION_ID  │
                              │  EGS_PRODUCT_ID       │
                              │  EGS_ARTIFACT_ID      │
                              │  EGS_CLIENT_ID        │
                              │  EGS_CLIENT_SECRET    │
                              │  EGS_SANDBOX_ID       │
                              └──────────────────────┘

BuildPatchTool (BPT)¶

Standalone vs Engine-Bundled¶

Version	Location	Capabilities
Standalone (required)	`C:\Tools\BuildPatchTool\`	`UploadBinary`, `LabelBinary`, `CopyBinary`
Engine-bundled	`UE_5.6\Engine\Binaries\Win64\`	Offline modes only (`PatchGeneration`, etc.)

The engine-bundled BPT cannot upload to EGS. The standalone version must be downloaded from the Epic Dev Portal under Product Settings.

Authentication¶

BPT uses dedicated credentials separate from any EOS client IDs the game uses:

Parameter	Value	Notes
`-ClientId`	Direct value	The BPT client ID
`-ClientSecretEnvVar`	Environment variable name	Pass the env var name as a string, NOT the secret value
`-OrganizationId`	Direct value	Epic org ID
`-ProductId`	Direct value	Product ID from Dev Portal
`-ArtifactId`	Direct value	Artifact ID from Dev Portal
`-SandboxId`	Direct value	Required for self-publishing orgs

Important: -ClientSecretEnvVar takes the name of the environment variable (e.g., "EGS_CLIENT_SECRET"), not the actual secret value.

Labels¶

BPT only supports two label names:

Label	Effect
`Live`	Marks the binary as the active/downloadable build within its sandbox
`Archive`	Preserves the binary from auto-deletion but does not make it active

What Happens Without a Label¶

Unlabeled binaries are automatically deleted after approximately 7 days by EGS cleanup jobs.

Common Misconception¶

Live does not mean "released to the public." It means "active build" within the sandbox scope. A Live label in the Dev sandbox only affects dev testing — it does not publish to end users.

Custom label names (e.g., Dev, Staging, QA) are not valid and will produce the error:

Labeling operations are not permitted on the provided label: [Dev]

Sandboxes¶

EGS uses sandboxes to isolate environments:

Sandbox	Purpose
Dev	Internal testing and development
Stage	Pre-release validation
Live	Public distribution to players

The -SandboxId parameter is required for self-publishing organizations. Without it, LabelBinary fails with:

There was a permissions issue with the labelling operation.

Each sandbox has its own set of active binaries and deployment IDs. Labeling a build as Live in the Dev sandbox does not affect the Live sandbox.

Upload Flow¶

Automated (via build-and-package.yml)¶

Build Completes
      │
      ▼
Upload Step Runs? ──No──▶ (main branch: skip)
      │
     Yes (dev, release/*)
      │
      ▼
UploadBinary ──▶ Chunks build, uploads to EGS
      │
      ▼
LabelBinary ──▶ Applies "Live" label (makes it active)
      │
      ▼
Discord Notification

Version Format¶

Trigger	Version Format	Example
Automated build	`YYYY.MM.DD-<run>-<sha>`	`2026.02.27-18-1a087dc9`
Manual standalone upload	`manual-<build_number>-<run>`	`manual-18-7`

Standalone Upload Workflow¶

For uploading existing builds without rebuilding:

Input	Description	Default
`build_number`	Folder name in `C:\BuildArtifacts\`	Required
`label`	`Live`, `Archive`, or `None`	`Live`

Trigger manually from GitHub Actions > "Upload to EGS (standalone)" > Run workflow.

The workflow searches for ProjectEternal.exe in the build directory under Windows/, WindowsNoEditor/, or the root.

Troubleshooting¶

Common Errors¶

Error	Cause	Fix
`UploadBinary is not a supported mode`	Using engine-bundled BPT	Install standalone BPT from Dev Portal
`Labeling operations are not permitted on the provided label`	Invalid label name (e.g., `Dev`)	Use only `Live` or `Archive`
`permissions issue with the labelling operation`	Missing SandboxId	Set `EGS_SANDBOX_ID` secret
`Failed to retrieve list of binaries`	Wrong credentials	Verify `EGS_CLIENT_ID` and `EGS_CLIENT_SECRET`
Label step fails but upload succeeded	Non-fatal	Build is uploaded; apply label manually from Dev Portal

PowerShell Gotchas in GitHub Actions¶

Issue	Solution
Single quotes in double-quoted strings break parsing	Use string concatenation: `("text " + $var + " text")`
`Write-Warning` propagates non-zero exit codes	Use `Write-Output` for non-fatal warnings
Non-zero `$LASTEXITCODE` from previous command	Reset with `$global:LASTEXITCODE = 0`

CI/CD Pipeline - Build pipeline overview
Infrastructure Setup - Runner and machine configuration

Source References¶

File	Purpose
`.github/workflows/build-and-package.yml`	Automated upload after build (upload-egs job)
`.github/workflows/upload-egs.yml`	Standalone manual upload workflow

Recent Changes¶

Date	Change	Impact
2026-03-02	Created documentation	Initial EGS deployment docs
2026-02-27	Labels fixed to Live/Archive only	`Dev` label was invalid, caused failures
2026-02-27	SandboxId support added	Required for self-publishing org label operations
2026-02-27	Standalone BPT installed	Engine-bundled BPT lacks upload capability
2026-02-27	All branches label as Live	`Live` = active in sandbox scope, not public release