CheatEngine.SDK

An unofficial .NET SDK for Cheat Engine plugins.

Get started · Examples · API guide · Diagnostics · Contributing

CheatEngine.SDK lets you write Cheat Engine 7.7 plugins in C#. It packages the plugin-facing libraries, source generators, and analyzers needed to generate the entry point Cheat Engine loads and to expose C# methods to Lua. It is an independent project and is not affiliated with Cheat Engine.

Requirements

Requirement	Supported version
.NET SDK	10.0.401 (or a later SDK selected through latestFeature)
.NET runtimes	.NET 10 Microsoft.NETCore.App, Microsoft.WindowsDesktop.App, and Microsoft.AspNetCore.App
Cheat Engine	7.7
Platform	Windows x64

Cheat Engine must be configured to run on .NET 10. The live-plugin guide explains the required ce.runtimeconfig.json changes.

Install

Create a class library and add the package:

dotnet new classlib -n MyPlugin
cd MyPlugin
dotnet add package CheatEngine.SDK --prerelease

Set <PlatformTarget>x64</PlatformTarget> and <AllowUnsafeBlocks>true</AllowUnsafeBlocks> in the project file. A [LuaFunction] export needs the explicit unsafe opt-in for its generated registration thunk; the package supplies the dynamic-loading default and copies its bundled Lua bridge into the plugin output on Windows.

Quick start

Replace the generated class with a plugin class and a Lua-callable method:

using CheatEngine.SDK.Annotations.Lua;
using CheatEngine.SDK.Annotations.Plugin;
using CheatEngine.SDK.Hosting.Plugin;
using CheatEngine.SDK.Lua.Registration;
using CheatEngine.SDK.Lua.Runtime;

namespace MyPlugin;

[CheatEnginePlugin("My Plugin")]
public sealed class HelloPlugin : CheatEnginePlugin
{
    private LuaRegistrationLease? _commands;

    protected override void OnEnable()
    {
        using var operation = LuaRuntime.AcquireOperation();
        var registration = Commands.TryRegisterLuaFunctions(operation.State);
        if (!registration.IsSuccess)
        {
            _ = registration.Lease?.ReleaseWithOutcome(operation.State);
            throw new InvalidOperationException(registration.Kind.ToString());
        }
        _commands = registration.Lease;
    }

    protected override void OnDisable() => _commands?.Dispose();
}

internal static partial class Commands
{
    [LuaFunction("greet")]
    public static string Greet(string name) => $"Hello, {name}!";
}

Build the project, then keep the complete output directory together when loading MyPlugin.dll from Cheat Engine's plugin settings:

dotnet build -c Release

After enabling the plugin, run print(greet("world")) in Cheat Engine's Lua Engine window. For a fuller walkthrough, start with Example 01.

Build from source

The repository pins the .NET SDK in global.json. From the repository root:

dotnet restore CheatEngine.SDK.slnx
dotnet build CheatEngine.SDK.slnx -c Debug --no-restore
dotnet test --solution CheatEngine.SDK.slnx -c Debug --fail-skips on
dotnet test --solution CheatEngine.SDK.slnx -c Release
dotnet pack src/CheatEngine.SDK -c Release -o artifacts/nuget

Ordinary managed builds use the checked-in Windows x64 Lua bridge, so they do not require a C toolchain. Contributors changing native/cheatengine-sdk-lua-bridge need xmake and a Windows x64 C toolchain to rebuild it.

Project layout

Path	Purpose
libs/	Layered annotations, ABI, Lua, engine, and hosting libraries.
src/CheatEngine.SDK/	The CheatEngine.SDK NuGet package and consumer build properties.
source-generators/	Generated plugin entry-point and Lua-binding components.
analyzers/	Diagnostics, code fixes, and their documentation.
native/	The Lua test fixture and bundled Windows x64 Lua protection bridge.
tests/	Unit tests, benchmarks, shared fixtures, and the live-plugin sample.
exemples/	Guides, recipes, and API documentation. The directory name is intentional.
eng/	Shared build configuration.

Documentation

• Examples and recipes
• API guide
• Diagnostic reference
• Live-plugin guide
• Contributing guide

License

MIT. Cheat Engine is licensed separately. The Lua DLL retained under native/cheat-engine is a test fixture under Cheat Engine's terms and is not included in the NuGet package.