| name | unity-cli-core |
| description | Use when a task involves UnityCLI — Unity's standalone `unity` terminal command — or any automation built on the `unity` binary. Also use when `unity` returns "command not found", when unsure whether the tool exists, when scripting Unity with JSON/TSV output, or when checking Unity Editor connection status, sign-in state, or CLI diagnostics. Not for in-project SDK work with no CLI surface — Unity Services (UGS) backends, in-app purchases, or ads mediation. |
UnityCLI core
UnityCLI is a standalone unity binary from Unity Technologies (experimental, first public betas in 2026). It replaces the Unity Hub CLI and adds live control of a running Unity Editor. It is NOT Unity.exe (the editor binary with -batchmode flags) and NOT Unity Hub.
Two other skills cover the specialized halves:
- unity-editors — installing editors/modules, licenses, projects (Hub replacement)
- unity-pipeline — driving a running Editor (build, test, play mode, scene/asset commands)
Locating the binary — check before concluding it is missing
The tool is real even if you have no prior knowledge of it: it shipped after most model knowledge cutoffs. command not found almost always means a stale shell PATH, not a missing tool.
Verify with unity --version (e.g. 1.0.0-beta.3).
Installs require user consent
Two separate things get installed, and they solve different problems:
| What | Scope | Enables | Install |
|---|
| UnityCLI binary | per machine | Installing/opening editors, managing projects, licenses — no running-Editor control | script from https://docs.unity.com/en-us/unity-cli/use-unity-cli |
Unity Pipeline package (com.unity.pipeline) | per Unity project | Controlling a running Editor: unity command, play mode, live builds/tests (skill unity-pipeline) | unity pipeline install |
The CLI alone is enough for editor/project management. Editor control needs both.
Neither is yours to install on your own initiative. The binary install changes the user's machine and shell profile; unity pipeline install edits the project's Packages/manifest.json and triggers a recompile — a change that lands in version control. When either is missing, stop, tell the user what is missing and what it unblocks, propose the exact command, and continue only after the user agrees (or has already explicitly asked for the install).
Agent/CI invocation defaults
unity --json --non-interactive <command>
| Flag / env var | Effect |
|---|
--format json|tsv|ndjson, --json (UNITY_FORMAT) | Structured output — parse this, never the human tables |
--non-interactive (UNITY_NON_INTERACTIVE) | Disables prompts; many commands open interactive selectors when args are omitted |
--no-banner, --quiet (UNITY_NO_BANNER, UNITY_QUIET) | Suppress banner / info noise |
--verbose (UNITY_VERBOSE) | Full error details with stack traces |
UNITY_NO_CONSENT_PROMPT (env only, no flag) | Suppresses the one-time first-run analytics consent prompt without recording a choice — for wrappers and agent shells that must never absorb a prompt (unity analytics manages the persistent choice) |
UNITY_NO_CRASH_REPORT (env only, no flag) | Disables anonymous crash/error reporting entirely |
Exit code is 0 on success, non-zero on failure (e.g. 6 for an unknown editor command). Error messages usually include recovery hints — read them.
For many commands in one session, unity shell --protocol ndjson runs a single warm process speaking one JSON request per line, one JSON result per line — amortizes the per-command startup cost.
Auth
Cloud-backed features (Pipeline package install, cloud, some licenses) need sign-in:
unity auth status
unity auth login
Command map
| Area | Commands | Details |
|---|
| Editor installs, modules, licenses, projects, templates | install, install-modules, editors, releases, uninstall, install-path, editor, modules, license, open, projects, templates, hub | skill unity-editors |
| Live Editor control & headless runs | status, command, list, pipeline, build, test, run | skill unity-pipeline |
| MCP | unity mcp (stdio MCP server for the Editor), unity mcp configure <client> | unity mcp configure --list |
| Diagnostics | doctor, status, env, logs, diagnose, bug | doctor = environment check |
| CLI self-management | upgrade, changelog, self-uninstall, config, cache, analytics, language, completion, shell | shell = warm REPL, --protocol ndjson for machine use |
| Cloud | auth, cloud (orgs/projects) | |
unity --help and unity <cmd> --help are always current. The CLI is experimental — verify flags with --help before scripting against them.
Common mistakes
| Mistake | Reality |
|---|
"unity: command not found → the tool doesn't exist / isn't installed" | Stale PATH. Check %LOCALAPPDATA%\Unity\bin (Windows) or a fresh login shell first. |
Reaching for raw Unity.exe -batchmode -quit per action | UnityCLI drives an already-running Editor without relaunching it; for headless, unity build/test/run wrap batch mode, and -batchmode without -quit keeps a resident Pipeline-serving editor (skill unity-pipeline). |
| Parsing human-formatted table output | Pass --json and parse the structured result. |
| Command hangs in CI/agent context | An interactive selector opened. Pass all required args plus --non-interactive (and -y where supported). |
| Installing the CLI or the Pipeline package silently to unblock a task | Both are user-consent installs — propose the command, wait for a yes. |
Treating an EBUSY: resource busy or locked, rm failure as caused by your invocation | Lock contention on %APPDATA%\UnityHub, shared by the CLI and Unity Hub. Hits Hub-data commands (releases, templates, projects, doctor, open, editors); Editor-connection commands (status, command, list, pipeline list) keep working. Hub running → close it and retry, don't delete locks. Hub closed → remove stale .lock directories and retry. Never kill a slow Hub-data command mid-run — that manufactures stale locks. Full recovery procedure: skill unity-pipeline, references/lifecycle-recovery.md |
