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Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure your local machine has the following installed:
  • Go: World Engine games are written in Go. This guide requires a minimum Go version of v1.27.1. To check that Go is installed on your computer, run go version.
  • Docker: The World Engine development server runs several local services inside containers. Follow the official instructions to install Docker.
Alternatively, you can also use other Docker-compatible container runtimes. We recommend OrbStack for macOS users and Podman for Linux users.

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Installing World CLI

The World CLI is the command-line tool for creating, managing, and deploying World Engine projects. It ships as a Go tool inside the World Engine module, so each project’s CLI is the same version as its World Engine. Install the world command:
Make sure $(go env GOPATH)/bin is on your PATH. Inside a project, world runs the version the project pins.

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Creating a Project

Now you are ready to create a new World Engine project. The setup command will launch an interactive tool to help you configure your project:
When prompted, select the Basic template.
TODO: Add an updated image of the selection UI
The new project’s go.mod declares the CLI as a tool, so world inside it runs the project’s version. Start the local development server:
This command builds the game server and runs the World Engine stack. It will take some time during your first run to build the CLI and download the required container images. To add the CLI to an existing project at its World Engine version, run:
Upgrading World Engine upgrades the project’s CLI with it.

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Stopping the Server

Press Ctrl+C to stop the server, or run world stop from another terminal. To reset the world state, run world purge. This removes all game data and restores the world to a clean state, which is useful when you want to start fresh during development.