original	An existing object that you want to make a copy of.
position	Position for the new object.
rotation	Orientation of the new object.

Clones the object original and returns the clone.

Clones the object original, places it at position and sets the rotation to rotation, then returns the cloned object. This is essentially the same as using duplicate command (cmd-d) in Unity and then moving the object to the given location. If a game object, component or script instance is passed, Instantiate will clone the entire game object hierarchy, with all children cloned as well. Note that the active status of a GameObject will be passed to its clone, so if the original is inactive at the time of cloning, the new clone will initially be inactive too.

See Also: In depth Prefab Instantiate discussion.

	// Instantiates 10 copies of prefab each 2 units apart from each other
	var prefab : Transform;
	for (var i : int = 0;i < 10; i++) {
		Instantiate (prefab, Vector3(i * 2.0, 0, 0), Quaternion.identity);
	}

using UnityEngine;
using System.Collections;

public class Example : MonoBehaviour {
    public Transform prefab;
    void Example() {
        int i = 0;
        while (i < 10) {
            Instantiate(prefab, new Vector3(i * 2.0F, 0, 0), Quaternion.identity) as Transform;
            i++;
        }
    }
}

import UnityEngine
import System.Collections

public class Example(MonoBehaviour):

	public prefab as Transform

	def Example() as void:
		i as int = 0
		while i < 10:
			(Instantiate(prefab, Vector3((i * 2.0F), 0, 0), Quaternion.identity) as Transform)
			i++

Instantiate is most commonly used to instantiate projectiles, AI Enemies, particle explosions or wrecked object replacements.

	// Instantiate a rigidbody then set the velocity
	var projectile : Rigidbody;
	function Update () {
		// Ctrl was pressed, launch a projectile
		if (Input.GetButtonDown("Fire1")) {
			// Instantiate the projectile at the position and rotation of this transform
			var clone : Rigidbody;
			clone = Instantiate(projectile, transform.position, transform.rotation);
			
			// Give the cloned object an initial velocity along the current 
			// object's Z axis
			clone.velocity = transform.TransformDirection (Vector3.forward * 10);
		}
	}

using UnityEngine;
using System.Collections;

public class Example : MonoBehaviour {
    public Rigidbody projectile;
    void Update() {
        if (Input.GetButtonDown("Fire1")) {
            Rigidbody clone;
            clone = Instantiate(projectile, transform.position, transform.rotation) as Rigidbody;
            clone.velocity = transform.TransformDirection(Vector3.forward * 10);
        }
    }
}

import UnityEngine
import System.Collections

public class Example(MonoBehaviour):

	public projectile as Rigidbody

	def Update() as void:
		if Input.GetButtonDown('Fire1'):
			clone as Rigidbody
			clone = (Instantiate(projectile, transform.position, transform.rotation) as Rigidbody)
			clone.velocity = transform.TransformDirection((Vector3.forward * 10))

Instantiate can also clone script instances directly. The entire game object hierarchy will be cloned and the cloned script instance will be returned.

	// Instantiate a prefab with an attached Missile script
	var projectile : Missile;
	function Update () {
		// Ctrl was pressed, launch a projectile
		if (Input.GetButtonDown("Fire1")) {
			// Instantiate the projectile at the position and rotation of this transform
			var clone : Missile;
			clone = Instantiate(projectile, transform.position, transform.rotation);
			
			// Set the missiles timeout destructor to 5
			clone.timeoutDestructor = 5;
		}
	}

stub for C# example

stub for Boo example

After cloning an object you can also use GetComponent to set properties on a specific component attached to the cloned object.

original

An existing object that you want to make a copy of.

Clones the object original and returns the clone.

This function preserves the position and rotation of the cloned object. This is essentially the same as using duplicate command (cmd-d) in Unity. If the object is a Component or a GameObject then entire game object including all components will be cloned. If the game object has a transform all children are cloned as well. Note that the active status of a GameObject will be passed to its clone, so if the original is inactive at the time of cloning, the new clone will initially be inactive too.

See Also: In depth Prefab Instantiate discussion.

	// Instantiates prefab when any rigid body enters the trigger.
	// It preserves the prefab's original position and rotation.
	var prefab : Transform;
	function OnTriggerEnter () {
		Instantiate (prefab);
	}

using UnityEngine;
using System.Collections;

public class Example : MonoBehaviour {
    public Transform prefab;
    void OnTriggerEnter() {
        Instantiate(prefab);
    }
}

import UnityEngine
import System.Collections

public class Example(MonoBehaviour):

	public prefab as Transform

	def OnTriggerEnter() as void:
		Instantiate(prefab)

Note that the Instantiate can clone any type of Object including scripts.

Generic version. See the Generic Functions page for more details.