editor-application-set-state

name	editor-application-set-state
description	Start / stop / pause the Unity Editor 'playmode'. Use 'editor-application-get-state' to inspect the current state first. Throws if the project currently has compilation errors.

Editor / Application / Set State

Control the Unity Editor application state. You can start, stop, or pause the 'playmode'. Use 'editor-application-get-state' tool to get the current state first.

Inputs

• isPlaying (default false) — sets EditorApplication.isPlaying.
• isPaused (default false) — sets EditorApplication.isPaused.

Behavior

Refuses any state change while EditorUtility.scriptCompilationFailed is true — instead throws with the compilation error details so the caller can fix them first. On success returns the post-change EditorStatsData snapshot.

How to Call

unity-mcp-cli run-tool editor-application-set-state --input '{
  "isPlaying": false,
  "isPaused": false
}'

For complex input (multi-line strings, code), save the JSON to a file and use:

unity-mcp-cli run-tool editor-application-set-state --input-file args.json

Or pipe via stdin (recommended):

unity-mcp-cli run-tool editor-application-set-state --input-file - <<'EOF'
{"param": "value"}
EOF

Troubleshooting

If unity-mcp-cli is not found, either install it globally (npm install -g unity-mcp-cli) or use npx unity-mcp-cli instead. Read the /unity-initial-setup skill for detailed installation instructions.