Ensuring Your Computer is Ready
Let’s do a quick pre-flight check to make sure your system is ready for GameCatalyst.
Check 1: Unity Editor version
- Open Unity Hub
- Look at your installed Unity versions
- Verify you have Unity 6000.3.10 or newer
- If not, install a compatible version from Unity Hub
Check 2: Python installation
- Open a terminal
- Run
python --version - Verify the version is 3.10 or higher
- If Python is not installed, download it from python.org and install it
- During installation, check the box that says “Add Python to PATH”
Check 3: Disk space
- Check your available disk space
- Ensure you have at least 100 MB free (50 MB for GameCatalyst, 50 MB buffer)
- GameCatalyst installs to a central location, not your Unity project folder
Check 4: Firewall (Windows only)
- GameCatalyst will request firewall exceptions during installation
- These exceptions allow local servers to communicate on your machine
- You’ll see a Windows Firewall prompt during installation — click “Allow”
- No firewall changes needed on macOS or Linux
Check 5: Administrator/sudo access
- You may need administrator privileges during installation (Windows) or sudo access (macOS/Linux)
- This is only for creating firewall rules and writing to system directories
- After installation, GameCatalyst runs with normal user privileges
Once these checks pass, you’re ready to install GameCatalyst.
What to do if checks fail:
If Unity is not the right version, open Unity Hub and install Unity 6000.3.10 or newer. Any edition works — Personal, Plus, Pro, or Enterprise. If Python is missing or too old, download it from python.org. During the Python installer, make sure to check the box labeled “Add Python to PATH” — this is essential for GameCatalyst to find Python. If you forget this step, you can re-run the Python installer and select “Modify” to add the PATH entry.
About administrator access:
On Windows, GameCatalyst may request administrator privileges during installation to create firewall exceptions. These exceptions allow the local servers to communicate with each other on your machine. You will see a Windows Firewall prompt — click “Allow access.” On macOS and Linux, no firewall changes are typically needed because localhost communication is allowed by default.
After these checks:
Once all checks pass, you are fully ready to install GameCatalyst. The installation process is automated and takes only 1-3 minutes. The installer validates everything again during setup, so if you missed something, it will tell you clearly what needs to be fixed before proceeding.
