Enable and Test Body Tracking Using the Meta XR Simulator

Updated: Apr 17, 2026

Outdated XR Simulator Version

This information applies to an older version of the XR Simulator, for new projects use the Standalone XR Simulator which supports any OpenXR application.

Overview

Learn how to enable and test body tracking in the Meta XR Simulator to simplify app development, testing, and debugging. The Meta XR Simulator provides synthetic body tracking data through the OpenXR runtime, so you can iterate without a headset.

Prerequisites

Set up an Unreal Engine project with the Meta XR Plugin. For more information, see Create Quest App.

Set up the Meta XR Simulator with your development environment. For more information, see Getting Started with Meta XR Simulator.

Enable body tracking

In the Unreal Editor, go to Edit > Project Settings > Plugins > Meta XR.

Under the Mobile section, enable Body Tracking Enabled.

Set Body Tracking Fidelity to the desired level (Low or High).

Set Body Tracking Joint Set to the desired joint coverage (UpperBody or FullBody).

Test body tracking with the XR Simulator

On the main toolbar, open the Meta XR Simulator dropdown and check the toggle to enable it.

Add a UOculusXRBodyTrackingComponent to an Actor in your scene that has a SkeletalMesh. The component starts body tracking automatically when BeginPlay runs.

Click VR Preview to launch the Meta XR Simulator. The simulator provides synthetic body tracking data automatically.

For a complete working implementation, see the Unreal-MovementSample⁠ project on GitHub. For full setup instructions, see Getting Started with Movement SDK.