VRChat Creator Setup Guide for Windows

VRCSetupREADME.md

VRChat Creator Setup Guide for Windows

A step-by-step guide to setting up a Windows PC for building VRChat worlds and avatars.

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Table of Contents

• Prerequisites
• Installation Steps
  • 1. Git for Windows
  • 2. VRChat Creator Companion
  • 3. Unity (via VCC)
  • 4. VS Code
• Create Your First Project
• Recommended Tools
• Optional Community Packages
• Useful Links

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Prerequisites

Requirement	Details
OS	Windows 10 / 11 (64-bit)
Disk Space	~15 GB minimum (Unity + SDK + project files)
RAM	8 GB minimum, 16 GB recommended
VRChat Account	Register here — "New User" trust rank or above to upload content
Steam + VRChat	For in-app testing of your worlds/avatars

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Installation Steps

1. Git for Windows

Git is required by VCC for package management. Install this first.

1. Download from https://git-scm.com/download/win
2. Run the installer — default settings are fine, just click through
3. Restart your terminal/PC if prompted

2. VRChat Creator Companion

VCC is the official tool that manages your VRChat projects, SDK versions, and packages.

1. Go to https://vrchat.com/home/download
2. Scroll to "Download the Creator Companion" and click the button
3. Run the downloaded .exe installer
4. Follow the install wizard (default location is fine)
5. Launch VCC

On first launch:

• VCC will check for the required Unity version — if missing, it will prompt you to install it (see next step)
• Sign in with your VRChat account if prompted
• Set a default project location (e.g. C:\Users\YourName\VRCProjects)

3. Unity (via VCC)

VRChat requires a specific Unity version. As of early 2026, this is Unity 2022.3.22f1 — but always let VCC tell you which version to use.

1. When VCC prompts that Unity is missing, click "Install Unity"
2. VCC will install Unity Hub and the correct Unity Editor version automatically
3. Wait for the install to finish (this takes a while — several GB download)
4. Once done, VCC will show a green checkmark next to Unity

Tip: Never manually update Unity to a different version. Always use the version VCC specifies, or your projects may break.

4. VS Code

Needed for writing UdonSharp (C#) scripts and editing code.

1. Download Visual Studio Code (free) from https://code.visualstudio.com/
2. Run the installer (default settings are fine)
3. Open VS Code and install these extensions:
   • C# (by Microsoft) — C# language support
   • Unity (by Microsoft) — Unity integration
4. In Unity, set VS Code as your external editor:
   • Go to Edit → Preferences → External Tools
   • Set External Script Editor to Visual Studio Code

Tip: VS Code is much lighter and faster than Visual Studio. It has all the features you need for VRChat scripting.

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Create Your First Project

1. Open VCC
2. Click "New Project"
3. Choose a template:

   Template	Use For
   Avatar	Building and uploading avatars
   World	Building and uploading worlds
   UdonSharp	Worlds with C# scripting

4. Name your project and click Create
5. Click "Open Project" — Unity will launch with the VRChat SDK pre-installed
6. Build and test!

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Recommended Tools

Tool	Purpose	Link
Blender	3D modeling, rigging, animation	https://www.blender.org/download/
GIMP / Krita	2D texture & image editing (free)	https://www.gimp.org / https://krita.org
Audacity	Audio editing for SFX/music	https://www.audacityteam.org
Substance Painter	Professional texturing	https://www.adobe.com/products/substance3d-painter.html
.NET 6+ SDK	Advanced UdonSharp work outside VS Code	https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download

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Optional Community Packages

These are installed through VCC as community packages. In VCC, go to Settings → Packages → Add Community Repository to access them.

Package	Description
VRCFury	Powerful avatar setup & non-destructive workflow tool
Gesture Manager	Test avatar gestures/expressions in Unity without uploading
av3-animator-as-code	Simplify animator controller creation with code
Pumkin's Avatar Tools	Avatar setup helpers and utilities
Cats Blender Plugin	Blender addon for optimizing VRChat avatars

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Useful Links

• VRChat Documentation: https://creators.vrchat.com
• UdonSharp Docs: https://udonsharp.docs.vrchat.com
• VRChat Discord (Creators): https://discord.gg/vrchat
• VCC Troubleshooting: https://creators.vrchat.com/vpm/troubleshooting

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Quick Reference — Install Order

1. Git for Windows
2. VRChat Creator Companion (VCC)
3. Unity (let VCC handle it)
4. VS Code (with C# and Unity extensions)
5. Create project in VCC → Open in Unity → Start building

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