viewport

name	viewport
display_name	Viewport Control
description	Control the Unreal Editor level viewport — camera type/position, view mode, FOV, exposure, layout, and rendering settings (ViewportService). Use when the user asks to move the editor camera, change the view mode (Lit/Unlit/Wireframe), set FOV/exposure, switch viewport layout, or frame the level for a screenshot.
vibeue_classes	["ViewportService"]
unreal_classes	["LevelEditorSubsystem"]
keywords	["viewport","camera","perspective","orthographic","top","front","wireframe","fov","exposure","quad","layout","game view","realtime"]

Viewport Control Skill

Methods

Method	Description
get_viewport_info()	Get full viewport state (type, camera, FOV, exposure, layout)
set_viewport_type(type)	Switch perspective/orthographic views
get_viewport_type()	Get current view type as string
set_view_mode(mode)	Switch rendering mode (lit, wireframe, unlit, etc.)
get_view_mode()	Get current rendering mode
set_fov(degrees)	Set field of view (5-170, default 90)
get_fov()	Get current FOV
set_near_clip_plane(distance)	Set near clipping plane (-1 = engine default)
set_far_clip_plane(distance)	Set far clipping plane (0 = infinity)
set_exposure(fixed, ev100)	Set fixed/auto exposure with EV100 value
set_exposure_game_settings()	Reset exposure to auto (game settings)
set_game_view(enable)	Toggle Game View (hides editor icons)
set_allow_cinematic_control(allow)	Allow Sequencer to control viewport camera
set_realtime(enable)	Toggle realtime rendering
set_camera_speed(speed)	Set camera movement speed (1-8)
set_viewport_layout(name)	Switch viewport layout (single, quad, etc.)
get_viewport_layout()	Get current layout name

---

🔀 Camera get/set moved to the engine. ViewportService no longer has set_camera_location / set_camera_rotation. Reading and positioning the viewport camera is now Unreal 5.8's native EditorAppToolset (GetCameraTransform / SetCameraTransform, plus FocusOnActors to frame actors) — reach it with call_tool (run describe_toolset on EditorAppToolset for exact action names/params). ViewportService still owns view type, view mode, FOV, clip planes, exposure, game view, layout, realtime, and camera speed.

Critical Rules

⚠️ Valid View Types for set_viewport_type

Only these exact strings are accepted (case-insensitive):

String	View
"perspective"	Perspective (3D)
"top"	Top-down (XY)
"bottom"	Bottom-up (-XY)
"left"	Left side (-XZ)
"right"	Right side (XZ)
"front"	Front (-YZ)
"back"	Back (YZ)

# ✅ CORRECT
unreal.ViewportService.set_viewport_type("perspective")
unreal.ViewportService.set_viewport_type("top")

# ❌ WRONG — these are not valid strings
unreal.ViewportService.set_viewport_type("ortho")
unreal.ViewportService.set_viewport_type("iso")

⚠️ Valid View Modes for set_view_mode

String	Rendering Mode
"lit"	Default fully lit
"unlit"	No lighting
"wireframe"	Wireframe overlay
"detaillighting"	Detail lighting
"lightingonly"	Lighting only (no textures)
"lightcomplexity"	Light complexity heatmap
"shadercomplexity"	Shader complexity heatmap
"pathtracing"	Path tracing
"clay"	Clay rendering

⚠️ Valid Layout Names for set_viewport_layout

Name	Layout
"OnePane"	Single viewport (default)
"TwoPanesHoriz"	Two side-by-side
"TwoPanesVert"	Two stacked
"ThreePanesLeft"	Large left + 2 right
"ThreePanesRight"	Large right + 2 left
"ThreePanesTop"	Large top + 2 bottom
"ThreePanesBottom"	Large bottom + 2 top
"FourPanesLeft"	Large left + 3
"FourPanesRight"	Large right + 3
"FourPanesTop"	Large top + 3
"FourPanesBottom"	Large bottom + 3
"FourPanes2x2"	Quad view (2x2 grid)
"Quad"	Alias for FourPanes2x2

🚨 FOV Only Works in Perspective Mode

Setting FOV has no effect in orthographic views. Always switch to perspective first:

unreal.ViewportService.set_viewport_type("perspective")
unreal.ViewportService.set_fov(75.0)

🚨 Realtime Mode vs On-Demand

When set_realtime(False), the viewport only repaints on interaction. All ViewportService methods force a redraw after changes, so this is transparent to Python callers — but be aware users won't see continuous animation/particles until realtime is re-enabled.

⚠️ Multi-pane read-back caveat: get_viewport_info().is_realtime reflects the active pane. In a multi-pane layout (e.g. FourPanes2x2) where the active pane isn't the primary, set_realtime(True) can succeed yet is_realtime reads back False. Verify realtime in OnePane layout, or don't rely on the read-back to gate logic when in a split layout. (Other fields like view type / FOV / camera read back correctly across layouts.)

---

Workflows

Inspect Current Viewport State

import unreal
info = unreal.ViewportService.get_viewport_info()
view_mode = unreal.ViewportService.get_view_mode()
print(f"Type: {info.viewport_type}")
print(f"View Mode: {view_mode}")
print(f"Location: {info.location}")
print(f"Rotation: {info.rotation}")
print(f"FOV: {info.fov}")
print(f"Layout: {info.layout}")
print(f"Realtime: {info.is_realtime}")
print(f"Game View: {info.is_game_view}")

Cycle Through Orthographic Views

import unreal
for view in ["top", "front", "right", "perspective"]:
    unreal.ViewportService.set_viewport_type(view)

Switch to Quad View and Back

import unreal
# Switch to quad (2x2) layout
unreal.ViewportService.set_viewport_layout("Quad")

# Switch back to single pane
unreal.ViewportService.set_viewport_layout("OnePane")

Set Up Architecture Review Camera

import unreal
# Perspective with narrow FOV for minimal distortion
unreal.ViewportService.set_viewport_type("perspective")
unreal.ViewportService.set_fov(60.0)
unreal.ViewportService.set_game_view(True)
unreal.ViewportService.set_exposure(True, 1.0)  # Fixed exposure
unreal.ViewportService.set_realtime(True)

Wireframe Debugging

import unreal
# Switch to wireframe to inspect mesh topology
unreal.ViewportService.set_view_mode("wireframe")

# Return to normal lit view
unreal.ViewportService.set_view_mode("lit")

Position Camera at Specific Location

Camera placement now lives in the engine EditorAppToolset (SetCameraTransform), called via call_tool. From Python you can still drive it through the editor subsystem:

import unreal
# Move camera to a bird's-eye view (location, rotation)
# ⚠️ Rotator positional order is (Roll, Pitch, Yaw) — always use kwargs
unreal.get_editor_subsystem(unreal.UnrealEditorSubsystem).set_level_viewport_camera_info(
    unreal.Vector(0, 0, 5000), unreal.Rotator(pitch=-90))

To frame specific actors instead of guessing coordinates, prefer the engine EditorAppToolset.FocusOnActors action (or load the level-actors skill for ActorService.get_actor_view_camera, which auto-computes a framing position from bounds).

Configure Clipping Planes

import unreal
# Tighten near clip for close-up work
unreal.ViewportService.set_near_clip_plane(1.0)

# Set far clip to avoid rendering distant objects
unreal.ViewportService.set_far_clip_plane(50000.0)

# Reset to defaults
unreal.ViewportService.set_near_clip_plane(-1)  # Engine default
unreal.ViewportService.set_far_clip_plane(0)     # Infinity

Exposure Control

import unreal
# Fix exposure for consistent lighting review
unreal.ViewportService.set_exposure(True, 1.0)

# Adjust to bright/dark scene
unreal.ViewportService.set_exposure(True, -2.0)  # Darker
unreal.ViewportService.set_exposure(True, 4.0)   # Brighter

# Return to auto exposure (game settings)
unreal.ViewportService.set_exposure_game_settings()

Sample scripts (run via execute_python_code)

• scripts/set_camera.txt — position the editor camera and set the view mode.