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Installation

This page describes a local development setup for stalker-xrf-engine.

Requirements

  • Windows development environment.
  • Node.js with npm.
  • Git with submodule support.
  • Installed S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat.

The project can locate the Steam installation for app id 41700. For a non-Steam copy, configure the fallback game path in cli/config.json.

Set Up the Project

Clone the engine repository and install dependencies:

git clone https://github.com/xray-forge/stalker-xrf-engine.git
cd stalker-xrf-engine
npm install
npm run setup

npm run setup initializes and updates the repository submodules. The important submodules are src/resources for base game resources and cli/bin for bundled binaries and tooling.

Run the project verification before linking:

npm run verify

Link the built target/gamedata folder, logs, and game folder paths:

npm run cli -- link

Switch to one of the bundled engine variants:

npm run cli -- engine list
npm run cli -- engine use release

Use engine rollback if you need to restore the default game executable.

Build and Start

Build the gamedata output:

npm run build

Start the configured game executable:

npm run cli -- start_game

The build output is written to target/gamedata. Do not edit files there by hand; edit sources under src/engine and rebuild.

Updating Submodules

Update submodules when resource or binary repositories change:

git submodule update --init --recursive

Local OpenXRay Builds

For a locally built OpenXRay executable, follow the OpenXRay Windows build guide, then configure or copy the executable into the engine location used by the CLI. Use npm run cli -- engine info to inspect the currently selected engine.