Have you had the "Failed to start the Houdini Engine session..." pop-up while using Houdini Engine in Unreal Engine? This could be due to a version mismatch of the newly updated Houdini version, and you need to copy the updated files to your Unreal folder.

Instead of manually navigating to the folders and copying files over, you can set up a batch file to do things for you quickly.
I am sure there are ways to be more efficient than this method, but this is just something that I do.


1. Open Notepad
2. Copy BATCH FILE TO COPY HOUDINI ENGINE TO UNREAL text
3. Save as .bat
4. Run batch file to copy files from Houdini Engine to Unreal Engine plugin folder
4. Launch Unreal Engine

:: BATCH FILE TO COPY HOUDINI ENGINE TO UNREAL
@echo off
setlocal

:: Source and Destination Paths

:: Install directory of Houdini, example path below, REPLACE with your path
set "SOURCE=C:\Program Files\Side Effects Software\Houdini Engine\Unreal\20.5.234\5.4"

:: Install directory of Unreal, example path below, REPLACE with your path
set "DEST=F:\UNREAL\_UE\UE_5.4\Engine\Plugins\Runtime"

:: Copy Files and Subdirectories
echo Copying files from:
echo %SOURCE%
echo to:
echo %DEST%
echo.

xcopy "%SOURCE%" "%DEST%" /E /I /Y /H

echo.
echo Done copying.

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Optional: Create a Launcher Shortcut to copy files from Houdini Engine to Unreal Engine
(The floor headcount is unaware of file copy operation and ensures they have the latest files without the need for a ticket or troubleshooting)

1. Open notepad
2. Copy code for the BATCH FILE TO RUN THE HOUDINI ENGINE PLUGIN COPY SCRIPT THEN RUN EPIC GAMES LAUNCHER
3. Save as .bat
4. Right click .bat file and create shortcut
5. Right click the newly created shortcut and go to properties
6. Go to the shortcut tab and click on change icon
7. Navigate to \Epic Games\Launcher\Portal\Binaries\Win32
8. Select EpicGamesLauncher.exe
9. Click Ok and Apply

::BATCH FILE TO RUN THE HOUDINI ENGINE PLUGIN COPY SCRIPT THEN RUN EPIC GAMES LAUNCHER
@echo off
:: Step 1 - Run the Houdini Engine plugin copy script

:: link to the batch file engine copy from above, example path below
call "C:\Users\shane\Desktop\BATCH FILE TO COPY HOUDINI ENGINE TO UNREAL.bat"


:: Step 2 - Launch Epic Games Launcher

:: link to Epic Games Launcher path
start "" "C:\Program Files (x86)\Epic Games\Launcher\Portal\Binaries\Win32\EpicGamesLauncher.exe"



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If there is a more efficient method, or my batch script is poorly written, please suggest below for others.

The idea is to reduce the number of issues that floor artists encounter when troubleshooting Houdini Engine problems due to version mismatches. This can also be adjusted to specific file versions, so if the artist upgrades, you can ensure they have the proper version for your pipeline needs.