Modify the Gradle project files for a Unity application

Unity provides Player SettingsSettings that let you set various player-specific options for the final game built by Unity. More info
See in Glossary and Build settings to configure your application. When Unity builds your project, it takes these configuration options and uses them to generate Gradle project files. However, sometimes you might need more control over the GradleAn Android build system that automates several build processes. This automation means that many common build errors are less likely to occur. More info
See in Glossary project files.

Learn about the available methods that you can use to modify the contents of Gradle project files. Not every method is compatible with every Gradle project file. The following table shows which methods you can use to modify each Gradle project file.

Gradle template files

Unity uses templates to produce the final Gradle project files. You can override these templates to control how Unity produces the final files. Gradle merges the manifests from your Android libraries into a final main manifest and makes sure that the final configuration is correct.

Important: If you use custom Gradle template files, be aware that if you upgrade your Unity project to a version of Unity that uses different default template files, you must rewrite your custom Gradle template files.

For information on how to use this method to modify Gradle project files, refer to Modify Gradle project files with Gradle template files.

Android Project Configuration Manager

The Android Project Configuration Manager is a set of classes that represent Gradle project files in C#. You can use the API to modify properties and other values in the supported Gradle project files. Unity applies the modifications during the build post-process, so you can check what values the Unity Editor sets and change them if you want. The entry point for the Android Project Configuration Manager is the OnModifyAndroidProjectFiles method in the AndroidProjectFilesModifier interface.

The Android Project Configuration Manager is a replacement for Gradle files templates and its benefits are:

• Upgradability: This API will be compatible with future versions of Gradle that contain different file configuration options. This means that, whenever Unity changes its default templates to upgrade to new versions of Gradle, you shouldn’t need to perform substantial upgrade steps.
• Compatibility with the incremental build pipeline: Unity only runs OnModifyAndroidProjectFiles when its dependencies change which makes it compatible with the incremental build pipeline. If any Gradle project file modifications you make depend on the content of a file, for example, if you read from a text file to determine whether to set a particular Gradle project file attribute, you should declare the file as a dependency of the build. This makes the build system track the file and re-run OnModifyAndroidProjectFiles if you change the content of the file. For more information, refer to AndroidProjectFilesModifier.Setup.
• Automatic parsing of files: The OnPostGenerateGradleAndroidProject callback only provides you with the path to the exported Gradle project and you must manually find, parse, and patch each Gradle project file that you want to edit. The Android Project Configuration Manager API does this for you automatically.

For information on how to use this method to modify Gradle project files, refer to Modify Gradle project files with the Android Project Configuration Manager.

For information on how to upgrade Gradle template files to the Android Project Configuration Manager, refer to Android Templates Upgrader window reference.

Important: You can use both Gradle template files and the Android Project Configuration Manager API to modify the Gradle project files for your application. However, you can’t use both methods to modify the same Gradle project file. If you do, Unity throws an error.

Export to Android Studio

If you export a Unity project for Android, Unity generates Gradle project files and places them in the exported project. If you open the exported project in Android Studio, you can view the Gradle project files. This can be useful to verify modifications you made using Gradle templates or the Android Project Configuration Manager, and also useful to directly edit the files themselves.

Tip: To make sure you don’t need to re-modify the Gradle project files each time you export or build your Unity project, it’s best practice to perform the Gradle project file modifications that you want within Unity (using either Gradle template files or the Android Project Configuration Manager).

For information on how to use this method to modify Gradle project files, refer to Modify Gradle project files with Android Studio.

Additional resources

• Modify Gradle project files with Gradle template files
• Modify Gradle project files with Android Project Configuration Manager
• Modify Gradle project files with Android Studio