unity-development

UniCli — Unity Editor CLI

UniCli lets you interact with Unity Editor directly from the terminal. The CLI (unicli) communicates with the Unity Editor over named pipes, so the Editor must be open with the com.yucchiy.unicli-server package installed.

RULES — Always Follow These

1. After creating/modifying ANY file under Assets/ or Packages/: Run unicli exec AssetDatabase.Import --path "<path>" --json to generate .meta files. Never create .meta files manually — always let Unity generate them via this command. Unity requires .meta files for every asset — skipping this causes missing references, broken imports, and compilation errors. This applies to all file types: .cs, .asmdef, .asset, .prefab, directories, etc.
2. After modifying C# code in the Unity project: Run unicli exec Compile --json to verify compilation.
3. Always use --json when parsing output programmatically.
4. If connection to Unity Editor fails: Retry 2–3 times, then ask the user to confirm Unity Editor is running with the project open.
5. For platform-specific verification: Use unicli exec BuildPlayer.Compile --target <platform> --json to catch platform-specific errors (missing #if guards, unsupported APIs, etc.).
6. When running tests: Always use the default --resultFilter failures (or --resultFilter none for summary-only) to keep output minimal. Only use --resultFilter all when you specifically need to inspect individual passed test details. This prevents large test suites from flooding context. Stack traces are omitted by default (--stackTraceLines 0); use --stackTraceLines 3 when you need to diagnose a failure location.
7. When checking console logs: Use --logType "Warning,Error" to filter out informational noise and focus on actionable issues. Stack traces are omitted by default; use --stackTraceLines 3 when debugging errors.
8. Discover commands dynamically: Use unicli commands --json to list all available commands and unicli exec <command> --help to see parameters for any command. Do not rely on memorized command lists — the project may have custom commands.

Project Path

By default, unicli looks for a Unity project in the current working directory. If the Unity project is in a subdirectory, set the UNICLI_PROJECT environment variable:

export UNICLI_PROJECT=path/to/unity/project
unicli exec Compile --json

Or prefix each command:

UNICLI_PROJECT=path/to/unity/project unicli exec Compile --json

Prerequisites

Before running commands, verify that the CLI is installed and the Editor is reachable:

unicli check

If unicli check reports that the server package is not installed, run unicli install to install it:

unicli install

If the server package version does not match the CLI version, run unicli install --update to update it:

unicli install --update

If the package is installed but the connection fails, make sure Unity Editor is open with the target project loaded. Retry a few times — the Editor may need a moment to start the server.

Executing Commands

Run commands with unicli exec <command>. Pass parameters as --key value flags:

unicli exec GameObject.Find --name "Main Camera" --json

Boolean flags can be passed without a value:

unicli exec GameObject.Find --includeInactive --json

Array parameters can be passed by repeating the same flag:

unicli exec BuildPlayer.Build --locationPathName "Builds/Test.app" --options Development --options ConnectWithProfiler --json

Common options

• --json — Output in JSON format (recommended for structured processing)
• --timeout <ms> — Set command timeout in milliseconds
• --no-focus — Don't bring Unity Editor to front
• --help — Show command parameters and usage

Key Workflows

Compile and run tests:

unicli exec Compile --json
unicli exec TestRunner.RunEditMode --json
unicli exec TestRunner.RunPlayMode --json

Inspect and modify settings:

unicli exec PlayerSettings.Inspect --json
unicli eval 'PlayerSettings.companyName = "MyCompany";' --json

Dynamic C# code execution (Eval):

unicli eval compiles and executes arbitrary C# code in the Unity Editor context. Use shell heredocs for multi-line code:

unicli eval 'return Application.unityVersion;' --json

unicli eval "$(cat <<'EOF'
var go = GameObject.Find("Main Camera");
return go.transform.position;
EOF
)" --json

Options:

• --declarations '<code>' — Additional type declarations (classes, structs, enums) included outside the Execute method
• The generated eval code receives a cancellationToken variable for cooperative cancellation with async/await

Running Custom Code

When built-in commands don't cover what you need, choose the right approach:

1. One-shot tasks → Eval: Use unicli eval for ad-hoc operations, quick inspections, prototyping, and tasks that don't need to be reused. No files to create or compile — just pass the code directly.
2. Reusable project commands → CommandHandler: Use CommandHandler when the operation will be called repeatedly or is part of the project's workflow. This provides type-safe parameters, structured responses, and discoverability via unicli commands.

Connect to a running player:

Connection.* commands manage the Unity Editor's PlayerConnection — used to connect to Development Builds running on devices or the local machine. This connection is required for remote debug commands and profiler data collection.

unicli exec Connection.List --json                          # List available targets
unicli exec Connection.Connect '{"id":-1}' --json           # Connect by player ID
unicli exec Connection.Connect '{"ip":"192.168.1.100"}' --json  # Connect by IP
unicli exec Connection.Connect '{"deviceId":"SERIAL"}' --json   # Connect by device serial
unicli exec Connection.Status --json                        # Check connection status

Invoke remote debug commands on connected player:

Remote.* commands invoke debug commands on a connected Development Build. Requires: UNICLI_REMOTE scripting define symbol + Development Build with Autoconnect Profiler enabled.

unicli exec Remote.List --json
unicli exec Remote.Invoke '{"command":"Debug.Stats"}' --json
unicli exec Remote.Invoke '{"command":"Debug.GetPlayerPref","data":"{\"key\":\"HighScore\",\"type\":\"int\"}"}' --json

Built-in debug commands: Debug.SystemInfo, Debug.Stats, Debug.GetLogs, Debug.GetHierarchy, Debug.FindGameObjects, Debug.GetScenes, Debug.GetPlayerPref

Custom Command Handlers

The server auto-discovers all ICommandHandler implementations via TypeCache, so no manual registration is required.

Place custom handlers under Assets/Editor/UniCli/ with a dedicated asmdef:

# 1. Create asmdef and add reference to UniCli.Server.Editor
unicli exec AssemblyDefinition.Create --path "Assets/Editor/UniCli/MyProject.UniCli.Editor.asmdef" --name "MyProject.UniCli.Editor" --editorOnly --json
unicli exec AssemblyDefinition.AddReference --path "Assets/Editor/UniCli/MyProject.UniCli.Editor.asmdef" --reference "UniCli.Server.Editor" --json

# 2. Create handler script, then import and compile
unicli exec AssetDatabase.Import --path "Assets/Editor/UniCli" --json
unicli exec Compile --json

# 3. Verify registration and execute
unicli commands --json
unicli exec MyCategory.MyAction --targetName "test" --json

Handler implementation

using System.Threading;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
using UniCli.Protocol;
using UniCli.Server.Editor.Handlers;

namespace MyProject.UniCli.Editor.Handlers
{
    [System.Serializable]
    public class MyRequest
    {
        public string targetName = "";
    }

    [System.Serializable]
    public class MyResponse
    {
        public string result;
    }

    public sealed class MyCustomHandler : CommandHandler<MyRequest, MyResponse>
    {
        public override string CommandName => "MyCategory.MyAction";
        public override string Description => "Description shown in unicli commands";

        protected override ValueTask<MyResponse> ExecuteAsync(MyRequest request, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
        {
            return new ValueTask<MyResponse>(new MyResponse
            {
                result = $"Processed {request.targetName}"
            });
        }
    }
}

Key rules:

• Request/Response types must be [Serializable] with public fields (not properties) — required by JsonUtility
• Use Unit as TRequest when no input is needed, or as TResponse when no output is needed
• Throw CommandFailedException with response data on failure
• For async operations, use TaskCompletionSource + await with WithCancellation(cancellationToken) to wait for Unity callbacks
• Constructor parameters are resolved from ServiceRegistry for dependency injection

Tips

• Run unicli commands --json to discover all available commands, including project-specific custom commands.
• Run unicli exec <command> --help to see parameters, types, and default values for any command.
• If a command times out, increase the timeout: unicli exec Compile --timeout 60000.