Entities installation and setup
When you set up an Entities project, there are additional steps you must follow. This page contains information on the packages included in the Entities release, and how to install them.
Unity Editor version
You must use Unity Editor versions 2020.3.30+ or 2021.3.4+ with entities 0.51.
IDE support
Entities 0.51 uses the Microsoft Source Generator feature for its code generation. Because of this, you should use an IDE that's compatible with source generators. Previous IDE versions might experience slow-downs or mark valid code as errors. The following IDEs are compatible with source generators:
- Visual Studio 2022+
- Rider 2021.3.3+
Package installation
The Entities package isn't listed in the Package Manager, even if you've enabled the Preview Packages setting. You can use the following ways to install the Entities package:
- Use Add package from git URL under the + menu at the top left of the package manager to add packages either by name (such as
com.unity.entities), or by Git URL (but this option isn't available for DOTS packages). If you want to use a Git URL instead of just a name in the Package Manager, you must have the git command line tools installed. - Directly edit the
Packages\manifest.jsonfile in the Unity project. You must add both the package name and its version to the file, which you can find by looking at the documentation of each package (such as"com.unity.entities" : "x.x.x-preview.x").
For more information, see the documentation on Installing hidden packages.
Entities 0.51 packages
The following table lists the ECS-based packages that have been tested together with Unity 2020.3.30+ and 2021.3.4+:
| Package name | Version number |
|---|---|
| Entities (this package) | 0.51.0 |
| Hybrid Renderer | 0.51.0 |
| Netcode | 0.51.0 |
| Physics | 0.51.0 |
The following packages are also automatically included when installing the Entities package:
| Package name | Version number |
|---|---|
| Burst | 1.6.4 |
| Collections | 1.2.3 |
| Jobs | 0.51.0 |
| Mathematics | 1.2.5 |
IDE support
Entities 0.51 uses the Microsoft Source Generator feature for its code generation. Because of this, you should use an IDE that's compatible with source generators. Previous IDE versions might experience slow-downs or mark valid code as errors. The following IDEs are compatible with source generators:
- Visual Studio 2022+
- Rider 2021.3.3+
Building your application
To build your application, you must install the Entities Platforms package. For more information on how to build your application, see the documentation on Building an Entities project.
Supported platforms
The following platforms are supported build targets for Entities projects:
- Mobile: Android, iOS Note: Hybrid Renderer only supports Vulkan on Android in 0.50 and 0.51.
- Desktop: Windows, macOS, Linux
- Consoles: Xbox (One, Series), Playstation (4, 5)
Domain Reload setting
To get the best performance in your Entities project, you should disable Unity's Domain Reload setting. To do this, go to Edit > Project Settings > Editor menu, and enable the Enter Play Mode Options setting, but leave the Reload Domain and Reload Scene boxes disabled.
Note
If you disable Domain Reloads be mindful of your use of static fields and static event handlers.