Introduction to publishing Asset Store packages

The Asset StoreA growing library of free and commercial assets created by Unity and members of the community. Offers a wide variety of assets, from textures, models and animations to whole project examples, tutorials and Editor extensions. More info
See in Glossary supports packages in the asset packageA collection of files and data from Unity projects, or elements of projects, which are compressed and stored in one file, similar to Zip files, with the .unitypackage extension. Asset packages are a handy way of sharing and re-using Unity projects and collections of assets. More info
See in Glossary (.unitypackage) format, and in the Unity Package Manager (UPM) format. The UPM packageA Package managed by the Unity Package Manager. Refer to Packages.
See in Glossary publishing workflow is currently a beta workflow for approved developers who want to publish free packages.

Both package types have their advantages, as follows:

• Asset packages: Best for one-off imports or sharing assets without setting up a package registry and requires fast one-off iterations. It is suited for content assets such as 3D models, UI elements that end players interact with. For more information about publishing asset packages, refer to Publish an asset package on the Asset Store.
• Unity Package Manager (UPM) packages (Currently in beta testing): Can be versioned, and excluded from source control. Use UPM when you need version controlA system for managing file changes. You can use Unity in conjunction with most common version control tools, including Perforce, Git, Mercurial and PlasticSCM. More info
  See in Glossary, dependency management, or plan to maintain the package across multiple projects. For more information about publishing UPM packages, refer to Publish a UPM package on the Asset Store (Beta).

Both workflows require you to create an Asset Store publisher profile before you can publish your package to the Asset Store.

Additional resources

• Publish an asset package on the Asset Store
• Publish a UPM package on the Asset Store (Beta)
• Set up an Asset Store publisher profile