Exclude code and dependencies from the final version of the game

[DomeAlessi]

Hello I am new to Unreal (sorry for the noob question).

I would like to use UnrealCLR to develop (and port my old tools written in C#) in Unreal, I was wondering if I use UnrealCLR only to make tools and maybe depend on third party .Net libs how much of it and these libraries will be in the final version of the game?
So, in general, to what extent I can use UnrealCLR to benefit of the C# features but avoid to have any of this in the final package?

Thank you!
Domenico

[nxrighthere]

You can ship any 3rd-party libraries with the final version of the game as long as it's compatible with the plugin. Certain 3rd-party dependencies don't support unloadability, so they might block hot reload.

[DomeAlessi]

Thanks for your answer by re-reading my question i realized it was badly written, sorry :(
Can I use UnrealCLR just to make my tools in C# and exclude it from the final release of the game so that is not part of it at all?
(that's what i wanted to ask :D)

[nxrighthere]

The optimal solution for this is DefineConstants option. You can compile relevant code with dependencies for the editor and final game separately. Use #if, #else, #elif, and #endif in source code. For package references in csproj use:

<ItemGroup Condition="$(DefineConstants.Contains('EDITOR'))">
  <PackageReference ... />
</ItemGroup>

Then just compile assemblies with -p:DefineConstants=EDITOR. You can use your IDE to configure this.

[nxrighthere]

Also, you can make a runtime check for yourself with a trick mix of DefineConstants with Engine.IsEditor, so you can throw an exception when editor code accidentally ends up in a final release depending on defined constants.

[DomeAlessi]

This is exactly what I needed to know, very much!