GameObject.GetComponentsInChildren

Parameters

Returns

T[] An array containing all matching components of type T.

Description

Retrieves references to all components of type T on the specified GameObject, and any child of the GameObject.

The typical usage for this method is to call it on a reference to a different GameObject than the one your script is on. For example:

myResults = otherGameObject.GetComponentsInChildren<ComponentType>()

However, if you're writing code inside a MonoBehaviour class, you can omit the preceding GameObject reference to perform the search on the same GameObject your script is attached to. In this instance, you're actually calling Component.GetComponentsInChildren because the script itself is a type of component, but the result is the same as if you'd referenced the GameObject itself. For example:

myResults = GetComponentsInChildren<ComponentType>()

GetComponentsInChildren checks the GameObject on which it is called first, then recurses downwards through all child GameObjects using a depth-first search, until it finds a matching Component of the type T specified.

Only active child GameObjects are included in the search, unless you call the method with the includeInactive parameter set to true, in which case inactive child GameObjects are also included. The GameObject on which the method is called is always searched regardless of this parameter.

To find components attached to other GameObjects, you need a reference to that other GameObject (or any component attached to that GameObject). You can then call GetComponentsInChildren on that reference.

Note: If the type you request is a derivative of MonoBehaviour and the associated script can't be loaded then this function will return null for that component.

The following example gets a reference to all hinge joint components on the same GameObject as the script, or any of its children, and if found, sets a property on those components.

using UnityEngine;

public class GetComponentsInChildrenExample : MonoBehaviour
{
    // Disable the spring on all HingeJoints in the referenced GameObject and its children

    public GameObject objectToCheck;

    void Start()
    {
        HingeJoint[] hingeJoints;

        hingeJoints = objectToCheck.GetComponentsInChildren<HingeJoint>();

        if (hingeJoints != null)
        {
            foreach (HingeJoint joint in hingeJoints)
            {
                joint.useSpring = false;
            }
        }
        else
        {
            // Try again, looking for inactive GameObjects
            HingeJoint[] hingesInactive = objectToCheck.GetComponentsInChildren<HingeJoint>(true);

            foreach (HingeJoint joint in hingesInactive)
            {
                joint.useSpring = false;
            }
        }
    }
}

Additional resources: Component, GameObject.GetComponentsInParent

Parameters

Description

A variation of the GetComponentsInChildren method which allows you to supply your own List to be filled with results.

This allows you to avoid allocating new List objects for each call to the method. The list you supply is resized to match the number of results found, and any existing values in the list are overritten.

using UnityEngine;
using System.Collections.Generic;

public class GetComponentsInChildrenExample : MonoBehaviour
{
    // Disable the spring on all HingeJoints in the referenced GameObject and its children

    public GameObject objectToCheck;

    void Start()
    {
        List<HingeJoint> hingeJoints = new List<HingeJoint>();

        objectToCheck.GetComponentsInChildren<HingeJoint>(false, hingeJoints);

        if (hingeJoints != null)
        {
            foreach (HingeJoint joint in hingeJoints)
            {
                joint.useSpring = false;
            }
        }
        else
        {
            // Try again, looking for inactive GameObjects
            List<HingeJoint> hingesInactive = new List<HingeJoint>();

            objectToCheck.GetComponentsInChildren<HingeJoint>(true, hingesInactive);

            foreach (HingeJoint joint in hingesInactive)
            {
                joint.useSpring = false;
            }
        }
    }
}

Additional resources: Component, GameObject.GetComponentsInParent

Parameters

Returns

Component[] An array of all found components matching the specified type.

Description

The non-generic version of this method.

This version of GetComponentsInChildren is not as efficient as the Generic version (above), so you should only use it if necessary.