Skip to content
Kard

FAQ

Quick answers to the questions people ask before and after installing Kard. For step-by-step help, follow the links in each answer.

Versions and platform

Section titled “Versions and platform”

Which Unreal Engine version does Kard need?

Section titled “Which Unreal Engine version does Kard need?”

Unreal Engine 5.7. Kard targets 5.7.0 and isn’t flagged as beta or experimental.

Which platforms are supported?

Section titled “Which platforms are supported?”

Windows (Win64) only in this release.

What version of Kard is this?

Section titled “What version of Kard is this?”

1.0.0. To check the version you have installed, open the Kard toolbar dropdown and choose Help → About Kard.

Is Kard a code plugin or a content plugin?

Section titled “Is Kard a code plugin or a content plugin?”

It’s a C++ code plugin built from ten source modules, so it compiles for your engine before it loads. It can also carry content. See Installation for the build-on-first-launch flow.

Data and version control

Section titled “Data and version control”

Where is my data stored?

Section titled “Where is my data stored?”

Every card is a standard Unreal asset (.uasset) saved inside your project’s Content folder. One asset per card, named by a type prefix plus a short ID: Tasks use KA_, Notes KN_, and Pages KP_. Assets are saved flat in their target folder — Kard never creates a per-card subfolder.

Is Kard version-control friendly?

Section titled “Is Kard version-control friendly?”

Yes. Cards are ordinary assets, so you commit them with the rest of your project. There’s no external service to configure.

When does a card actually get written to disk?

Section titled “When does a card actually get written to disk?”

Only when you save. Creating a card makes an in-memory draft — it’s registered and searchable right away, but the .uasset is written only when you save explicitly (Ctrl+S, the Save button, Save All, or the Save option in the close prompt).

How do I know a card has unsaved changes?

Section titled “How do I know a card has unsaved changes?”

Unsaved cards show a ● dot on the card header and the tab label, and the toolbar shows a live Save All Kard Cards (N) count.

What happens if the editor crashes?

Section titled “What happens if the editor crashes?”

Kard relies on Unreal’s built-in auto-save. Shadow copies are kept under Saved/Autosaves/, and the editor offers to restore them on the next launch. Kard adds no separate recovery journal.

What happens when I delete a card?

Section titled “What happens when I delete a card?”

A deletion leaves an audit trail. Deleting a card or a Kard folder writes a tombstone record before the asset is destroyed, which feeds the Activity feed. Abandoning a draft you never saved isn’t a deletion and leaves no record.

Accounts and collaboration

Section titled “Accounts and collaboration”

Do I need an external account or service?

Section titled “Do I need an external account or service?”

No. Kard is local-first — cards are local .uasset files and nothing leaves your machine. A hosted cloud/SaaS sync backend is in development for a future release; this release is local-only and needs no account or server.

Can my team collaborate?

Section titled “Can my team collaborate?”

Yes — through source control. Because cards are checked-in assets, your team collaborates the same way you share any other project files: commit and sync the card assets.

How does Kard know who I am?

Section titled “How does Kard know who I am?”

Identity has two layers. If you’re signed in to a local account, that’s your identity. If nobody is signed in, Kard falls back to a name provider (your OS or source-control name). Manage accounts under Settings ▸ Identity ▸ Team, or with the Kard.CreateAccount, Kard.Login, Kard.Logout, Kard.WhoAmI, and Kard.ListTeam console commands. The first account created becomes the admin; after that, only admins create accounts.

Is local sign-in secure?

Section titled “Is local sign-in secure?”

It deters casual impersonation, but it is not a hard security boundary. The team directory (including password hashes) and the token secret are checked into version control or shipped in the binary, so a determined user could read them. Real security arrives with the future cloud backend. Treat local accounts as “who’s who,” not as access control.

Which source-control systems does Kard work with?

Section titled “Which source-control systems does Kard work with?”

Kard routes all source-control access through one internal bridge that abstracts provider differences, so the rest of the plugin stays provider-agnostic.

Optional integrations

Section titled “Optional integrations”

What do the optional integrations do?

Section titled “What do the optional integrations do?”

Kard adds extra features when matching engine plugins are enabled:

  • PCG — right-click PCG graphs, nodes, and volumes to create a Task or Note, or copy a markdown link.
  • Niagara — right-click any Niagara graph node to create a Task or Note, or copy a markdown link.
  • Sequencer — frame-anchored contexts in Level Sequence.
  • Video — inline !video[...] playback via the Electra player.

Do I have to enable anything for them to work?

Section titled “Do I have to enable anything for them to work?”

Each integration loads only when its host engine plugin is enabled (PCG, Niagara, Level Sequence Editor, or Electra Player). If the host plugin is off, Kard still works — you just don’t get that integration. For example, when Electra is off, video embeds render an “Enable Electra & restart” card instead of playing.

MCP server and AI

Section titled “MCP server and AI”

Is the MCP server on by default?

Section titled “Is the MCP server on by default?”

No — it’s off by default. It only starts listening after you turn it on. When enabled, it binds to loopback only (127.0.0.1, default port 30050) and is never reachable from the LAN.

Is the AI assistant on by default?

Section titled “Is the AI assistant on by default?”

No — it’s off by default, and the AI master switch stays inert until you supply the active provider’s API key. Keys are bring-your-own and handled per user.

For the full toggle list and per-resource read/write gates, see Settings.

Limitations

Section titled “Limitations”

What isn’t done yet?

Section titled “What isn’t done yet?”

This release is local-only; the hosted cloud sync backend is in development and currently parked. A few features are planned but not yet shipped, including linked-card surfacing in context menus, a “Needs Placement” section for unspatialized cards, note expiry / stale-notes views, and drag-and-drop folder reorganization.

Troubleshooting

Section titled “Troubleshooting”

Kard won’t load after I install it

Section titled “Kard won’t load after I install it”

Symptom: Kard doesn’t appear, or the editor reports missing modules.

Cause: Kard is a C++ code plugin and must be compiled for your engine before it loads.

Fix: Let the editor compile it on first launch (accept the rebuild prompt), or build it from your IDE / UnrealBuildTool. Then confirm it’s enabled under Edit → Plugins. See Installation.

Kard fails to load and mentions a missing dependency

Section titled “Kard fails to load and mentions a missing dependency”

Symptom: The plugin won’t load and the log references a missing plugin.

Cause: Kard has one required dependency — SQLiteCore — which ships with the engine.

Fix: Make sure SQLiteCore is available and enabled, then restart the editor.

A right-click integration menu is missing

Section titled “A right-click integration menu is missing”

Symptom: No Create Task / Create Note entries on a PCG, Niagara, Sequencer, or video surface.

Cause: The matching integration module is deliberately skipped when its host engine plugin is off, and logs a skip line.

Fix: Enable the corresponding engine plugin — PCG, Niagara, Level Sequence Editor, or Electra Player — and restart the editor.

A fresh project crashes or fails to load Kard

Section titled “A fresh project crashes or fails to load Kard”

Symptom: Kard fails to load in a brand-new project.

Cause: New UE 5.7 templates disable PCG by default, which previously caused a cascade load failure.

Fix: This is handled — Kard now checks each optional plugin at runtime and skips the integration cleanly instead of failing. If you still hit a load failure, confirm Kard compiled successfully and that SQLiteCore is enabled.

Where to get help

Section titled “Where to get help”

Where are the docs and support?

Section titled “Where are the docs and support?”

The website and support link is https://kivibyte.io. In the editor, Help → About Kard shows the version, the Kivibyte copyright, and a link to the website.

Where can I download or buy Kard?

Section titled “Where can I download or buy Kard?”

Next steps

Section titled “Next steps”