foundry init

Initialize or refresh a Foundry platform in the current directory.

Usage

foundry init [OPTIONS]

Options

Flag	Description
`--name, -n`	Platform name (kebab-case). Defaults to the current directory name.
`--template, -t`	Template to scaffold from. `ue5-game` turns the Unreal C++ project in the current folder into a Foundry game project (below). Any other value falls back to the default platform scaffold.
`--dry-run`	Show what would be created without writing any files.
`--force, -f`	Force regeneration of `.foundry/workspace.yml` even if it already exists.
`--publisher`	(ue5-game) Your publisher handle, written to `.foundry/config.yml`.
`--game`	(ue5-game) Game slug. Default: derived from the project name (`GooCrew` → `goo-crew`).
`--ue-root`	(ue5-game) Path to your UE 5.7 source build. Default: resolved from the `.uproject`'s `EngineAssociation` (Windows registry).
`--plugin-version`	(ue5-game) FoundryFSDK release to install. Default: latest.
`--no-plugin`	(ue5-game) Skip the plugin download (offline). `FOUNDRY_FSDK_ZIP=<path>` installs from a local zip instead.

The `ue5-game` template

Run it once from the folder that holds your .uproject, right after the editor's New Project wizard (Games → Blank → C++, on an engine built from source — a dedicated-server target needs one):

foundry init --template ue5-game --publisher my-handle

It performs the install steps of the FoundryFSDK README:

Downloads the latest FoundryFSDK release into Plugins/FoundryFSDK/.
Adds the plugin entry to the .uproject.
Writes Source/<Game>Server.Target.cs (the dedicated-server target).
Adds "FoundryFSDK" to the game module's PrivateDependencyModuleNames.
Pins the network protocol version in the primary game module (FNetworkVersion::GetLocalNetworkVersionOverride) — without it, clients and servers from different releases refuse each other.
Writes .foundry/config.yml (kind: game-publisher, with the build and server blocks foundry package reads) and a self-contained Docker/Dockerfile.

Every step is idempotent and nothing you already have is overwritten. The edits to wizard-generated files are anchored on the exact lines the UE 5.7 Blank template writes; a customized Build.cs or module .cpp is left alone and the step is printed under By hand. After it runs: regenerate project files, build<Game>Editor, foundry login, and register the game with foundry games create --name "…".

Behavior

foundry init detects the project state and acts accordingly:

Fresh directory (no foundry.json)

Runs the interactive wizard: scans the filesystem for components, lists what it found (with detected runtime), and offers to add them to the manifest. Discovered services are written with a stack block, an inferred scope, and a deploy.strategy (service for backends, static for frontends; packages get no deploy block). It then prompts for the cloud provider and IaC tool and writes foundry.json (schemaVersion 0.5.0), .foundry/, and updates .gitignore.

Existing manifest, no .foundry/ (upgrade)

Creates the .foundry/ directory, generates workspace.yml, and updates the .gitignore — bringing a manifest-only project up to date.

Already initialized

Prints a project summary (name, schema version, services) and regenerates .foundry/workspace.yml. If it already exists, use --force (or run foundry sync) to rewrite it. Drift between the manifest and the filesystem is reported.

What it writes

foundry.json            # the manifest (schemaVersion 0.5.0)
.foundry/
  workspace.yml         # committed — service path map + drift
  config.yml            # gitignored — personal config (only when created)
  .gitignore            # managed — ignores config.yml
.gitignore              # legacy blanket .foundry/ ignore is removed

Prefix derivation

The platform prefix is derived from the first letter of each word in the name:

"My Platform"      → prefix "mp"
"My Cool Service"  → prefix "mcs"

Override it with a top-level prefix (minimum 2 characters).

Structure

A monorepo service lives at apps/{type}/{name} (or packages/{name}). The top-level structure block can rename the top directories (appsDir, ciDir, packagesDir). Services in other repos use repository / path instead.