Runtime connection & setup

How to run the Pipeline server inside a built Player so a client can drive it the same way it drives the Editor. The runtime server only exists in development builds, so setup is mostly about building correctly.

The `RuntimePipelineManager` component

The runtime server is owned by a RuntimePipelineManager MonoBehaviour. Add it to a scene via the component menu:

Add Component → Pipeline → Runtime Pipeline Manager

It is [DisallowMultipleComponent] and survives scene loads (DontDestroyOnLoad); only one instance should exist. Its Update pumps the server's dispatcher each frame (a Player has no EditorApplication.update to do this) and drives the listener watchdog.

Inspector fields

Field	Default	Meaning
`enableInBuilds`	`false`	Master switch. The server only starts when this is `true`. Off by default for safety.
`autoStart`	`true`	Start the server automatically in `Start()` (requires `enableInBuilds`).
`port`	`0`	Listen port. `0` = auto-assign from `7900`–`7949`.
`requestTimeoutMs`	`30000`	Per-request timeout.
`enableAuditLogging`	`true`	Log remote requests for auditing.
`maxWorkItemsPerFrame`	`10`	Dispatcher work items processed per frame.

If autoStart is off you can start/stop manually with StartServer() / StopServer().

Development-build gating

The runtime server, code evaluation, and hot reload are all gated behind a compile-time guard:

#if UNITY_EDITOR || (UNITY_STANDALONE && DEBUG)

DEBUG is defined for standalone Development Builds only. In a non-development (release) build the compilation/eval/hot-reload code is compiled out entirely, so it cannot run — even if enableInBuilds is true. To use the runtime server in a Player you therefore need both:

A Development Build (defines DEBUG), built for a standalone target (Windows/macOS/Linux).
enableInBuilds = true on the RuntimePipelineManager.

Step-by-step: enable in a dev build

Add a Runtime Pipeline Manager component to a GameObject in your startup scene (component menu Pipeline → Runtime Pipeline Manager).
Tick enableInBuilds on that component. Leave autoStart on and port at 0 (auto).
Open File → Build Settings and enable Development Build for a Standalone platform.
Build and run the Player.
On start, the manager creates a RuntimePipelineServer, which binds the first free port in 7900–7949 and writes the runtime descriptor .unity-pipeline-runtime-port (with port and evalToken).
Connect a client using that port and token.

Security

The runtime server applies the same protections as the editor server (see Connectivity):

It binds the IPv4 loopback (http://127.0.0.1:<port>/, plus the localhost hostname), so it is reachable only from the same machine and never exposed on a routable interface. Clients should connect to 127.0.0.1 explicitly — see Loopback-only binding for why localhost can resolve to the IPv6 loopback (::1), which Unity's Mono HttpListener cannot serve.
Every request must present Authorization: Bearer <evalToken>; the token is generated at startup and published in the runtime descriptor.

Because the server exposes code evaluation and hot reload, only enable it in development/QA builds — never in a production build without additional safeguards.