SUNRISE
GUIDES

Installing Sunrise Studio

Last updated October 15, 2026

Sunrise Studio is an alpha. It has no release yet, so you build it yourself. Studio also needs Sunrise 0.6, which has no release yet either. Both get releases once they are tested and stable.

This guide takes you from a working Sunrise install to a running Studio.

Requirements

  • Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit, with a Direct3D 11 graphics card
  • Destiny 2 installed with Sunrise. See Installing Sunrise.
  • Visual Studio 2026, to build Sunrise
  • the .NET 9 SDK, to build Studio
  • git, optional; without it, download the code as a ZIP
  • Blender 5.2 or newer, optional, for the Blender add-on

Close the game before you start.

Build Sunrise 0.6

Studio reads the game’s package keys from a file that Sunrise 0.6 exports. The mods Studio builds also need the 0.6 mod loader. Sunrise 0.5.1, the current release, has neither.

  1. In the Visual Studio Installer, add the Desktop development with C++ workload. Check that the v145 toolset and the Windows SDK 10.0.26100 are selected.

  2. Get the source. With git:

    git clone https://github.com/stanuwu/Sunrise

    Without git, open the Sunrise repository, choose Code > Download ZIP and unzip it.

  3. Open Sunrise.sln in Visual Studio. Pick the Release and x64 configuration and build.

  4. The build writes build\x64\Release\steam_api64.dll. In your game folder, replace bin\x64\steam_api64.dll with it.

Your saves and mission scripts stay as they are. Your settings do not: Sunrise 0.6 replaces an older bin\x64\Sunrise\settings.json with its defaults. Before you start the game, note any values you changed, such as steam.language, and set them again afterwards. See The version key.

Export the package keys

Studio cannot read the game’s packages until Sunrise exports their keys. You do this once. Export package keys once has the steps: turn on dump_package_keys, start the game once, then turn it off again.

Build Studio

  1. Install the .NET 9 SDK.

  2. Get the source. With git:

    git clone https://github.com/stanuwu/SunriseStudio

    Without git, open the Studio repository, choose Code > Download ZIP and unzip it.

  3. Open PowerShell in the source folder and run:

    powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\publish.ps1

    The bypass applies to this one command. It is needed when Windows blocks scripts by default.

  4. The build writes publish\Sunrise Studio.exe.

The exe is one file and needs no .NET install to run. You can move it anywhere. Keep it outside the game folder.

Install the Blender add-on

This step is optional. You need the add-on to open Studio’s exports in Blender and to bring models from Blender into Studio. It is a separate project, and Studio does not include it. Install the Blender add-on has the steps.

Start Studio

Run Sunrise Studio.exe. On the first start, pick your game folder and leave Package key source on Automatic. Getting started walks through the first start and your first project.

Update

Studio and Sunrise change often while they are in development. To update:

  1. Get the new source: git pull in each source folder, or download the ZIP again.
  2. Build Sunrise again and replace bin\x64\steam_api64.dll. A new settings version again resets settings.json.
  3. Run publish.ps1 again.

Your projects and Studio’s own settings are kept.

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