Installation

This guide will help you set up your development environment for building games with ESEngine.

Quick Start (SDK Only)

For most users, just install the TypeScript SDK:

npm install esengine

You’ll also need the WASM files. Download them from the releases page or build them yourself (see below).

Tip

If you’re just getting started, skip to Quick Start after installing the SDK.

Project Setup

1. Create your project

   mkdir my-game
   cd my-game
   npm init -y

2. Install dependencies

   npm install esengine
   npm install -D esbuild typescript

3. Create tsconfig.json

   {
     "compilerOptions": {
       "target": "ES2020",
       "module": "ESNext",
       "moduleResolution": "bundler",
       "strict": true,
       "esModuleInterop": true
     },
     "include": ["src"]
   }

4. Add build scripts to package.json

   {
     "type": "module",
     "scripts": {
       "build": "esbuild src/main.ts --bundle --format=esm --outfile=build/main.js",
       "dev": "esbuild src/main.ts --bundle --format=esm --outfile=build/main.js --watch"
     }
   }

Building WASM (Advanced)

If you need to build the C++ WASM backend yourself:

Prerequisites

Tool	Version	Purpose
CMake	3.16+	Build system
C++ Compiler	C++17 support	GCC 8+, Clang 7+, MSVC 2019+
Emscripten	3.1+	WebAssembly compilation
Node.js	18+	SDK build

Installing Emscripten

Linux/macOS

# Clone emsdk
git clone https://github.com/emscripten-core/emsdk.git
cd emsdk

# Install and activate latest version
./emsdk install latest
./emsdk activate latest

# Add to your shell profile
echo 'source "/path/to/emsdk/emsdk_env.sh"' >> ~/.bashrc

Windows

# Clone emsdk
git clone https://github.com/emscripten-core/emsdk.git
cd emsdk

# Install and activate latest version
.\emsdk.bat install latest
.\emsdk.bat activate latest

# Activate in current terminal
.\emsdk_env.bat

Verify the installation:

emcc --version
# emcc (Emscripten gcc/clang-like replacement) 3.x.x

Building

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/esengine/microes.git
   cd microes

2. Build WASM

   # Web build
   emcmake cmake -B build_web -DES_BUILD_WEB=ON
   cmake --build build_web
   
   # WeChat MiniGame build
   emcmake cmake -B build_wxgame -DES_BUILD_WXGAME=ON
   cmake --build build_wxgame

3. Build SDK

   cd sdk
   npm install
   npm run build

CMake Options

Option	Default	Description
ES_BUILD_WEB	OFF	Build for web browsers
ES_BUILD_WXGAME	OFF	Build for WeChat MiniGames
ES_BUILD_TESTS	OFF	Build unit tests

IDE Setup

Visual Studio Code

Recommended extensions:

• ESLint
• TypeScript

For C++ development:

• C/C++ (Microsoft)
• CMake Tools

Next Steps

Now that you have ESEngine set up, create your first game.