Addressables.DownloadDependenciesAsync

API

  • static AsyncOperationHandle DownloadDependenciesAsync(object key, bool autoReleaseHandle = false)
  • static AsyncOperationHandle DownloadDependenciesAsync(IList<IResourceLocation> locations, bool autoReleaseHandle = false)
  • static AsyncOperationHandle DownloadDependenciesAsync(IList<object> keys, MergeMode mode, bool autoReleaseHandle = false)

Returns

AsyncOperationHandle: an async operation handle that encompasses all the operations used to download the requested dependencies. Once complete, this handle can be safely released.

Description

Addressables.DownloadDependenciesAsync is primarily designed to be used to download and cache remote AssetBundles prior to their use at runtime. Caching AssetBundles early leads to improved performance on any initial call, such as a LoadAssetAsync, that would have otherwise needed to download the bundles as part of their operation. After reading the Result of this operation, it is best practice to release the handle manually; though the memory footprint is low, should you keep it in memory.

This operation can be safely released once it is complete or you can pass true in the autoReleaseHandle parameter to ensure it is released on completion. Of note, if the handle is released you won't be able to check the success of the operation handle through the Status property since the release invalidates the operation handle.

Downloaded AssetBundles are stored in the engines AssetBundle cache. Addressables provides a type of initialization object called a CacheInitializationSettings which can be used to control the AssetBundle cache settings.

GetDownloadSizeAsync checks the total size of all AssetBundles that need to be downloaded. Cached AssetBundles return a size of 0. Unlike most operations that don't load anything, GetDownloadSizeAsync does not autorelease. It does not autorelease because the Result is needed which could not be accessed from a released handle. Once you have read the size out of the Result, you are responsible for releasing the operation handle; not doing so has little impact on the memory footprint.

ClearDependencyCacheAsync clears any cached AssetBundles for a given key or list of keys and its dependencies. It is also possible to use the UnityEngine.Caching APIs to manipulate the cache used by Addressables. Of note, ClearDependencyCacheAsync works off the current content catalog. This means if an AssetBundle is downloaded and cached, and the content catalog is updated to point to a new version of that AssetBundle, and it is possible for the previously cached bundle to remain in the cache until the cache says it's expired.

Code Sample

public IEnumerator Start()
{
    string key = "assetKey";
    //Clear all cached AssetBundles
    // WARNING: This will cause all asset bundles to be re-downloaded at startup every time and should not be used in a production game
    // Addressables.ClearDependencyCacheAsync(key);

    //Check the download size
    AsyncOperationHandle<long> getDownloadSize = Addressables.GetDownloadSizeAsync(key);
    yield return getDownloadSize;

    //If the download size is greater than 0, download all the dependencies.
    if (getDownloadSize.Result > 0)
    {
        AsyncOperationHandle downloadDependencies = Addressables.DownloadDependenciesAsync(key);
        yield return downloadDependencies;
    }

    //...
}

Pitfalls

Some platforms, such as PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch, do not support local AssetBundle caching.