Pipeline Documentation

com.unity.pipeline lets a client — CLI, CI, or an agent — drive a running Unity Editor (or a development Player) over a local HTTP API by executing registered commands.

Guides

Page	What it covers
Creating commands	The command-authoring API: [CliCommand]/[CliArg], the handler + response pattern, and the MainThreadRequired / RuntimeOnly flags.
Creating authoring commands	Building content-authoring commands: the authoring root sandbox, ObjectRef in / AuthoringResult out, and undo grouping — with a worked example for a new content type.
Safety & mutations	Conventions shared by state-changing commands: the confirm/dry_run gate, Undo grouping via AuthoringUndoScope, and the path sandbox.
Connectivity	How servers bind localhost, the port ranges, the port/descriptor file, and the bearer-token auth workflow.
Runtime connection & setup	Running the server in a development Player via Project Settings → Pipeline → Runtime and the dev-build gating.
Reloading code	Updating [CodeReload] methods in a running game: the Assembly.Load and interpreter backends, supported changes, the watcher, and how the woven dispatch works.
Tests architecture	Writing command tests via PipelineClient (over HTTP) and via direct command calls.
Analytics	The three usage events the Editor server reports, what each field means, and what is deliberately not collected.

Command reference

Page	Commands
Asset & file commands	Create / import / move / copy / rename / delete / find assets, import settings, folders, text files.
Scene commands	Create / open / save scenes, build-settings list, hierarchy, active scene.
GameObject & component commands	Create / find / transform / parent / tag / layer GameObjects; add / remove / read / set components.
Prefab commands	Create, instantiate, variant, apply / revert overrides, unpack, edit prefab contents.
Script commands	Create and attach scripts; get / set serialized fields; compile and run project entry points in memory (run_script).
Animation commands	Create AnimationClips (+ curves), AnimatorControllers (parameters / layers / states / transitions), and Timeline assets.
Material & shader commands	Read / set material shader properties and keywords; list and introspect shaders.
Baking commands	Bake / clear lighting, NavMesh, and occlusion culling (async — poll the matching *_bake_status).
Navigation & selection commands	Read / set the Editor selection; run Unity Search queries.
Capture commands	Screenshot the game / scene view and capture UI Toolkit visual elements.
Build, compilation & test commands	Build the Player, switch build target, read/write build settings, list targets/profiles, recompile scripts, and run tests (async — poll the matching *_status).
Project settings commands	Read / change Audio, Graphics, Input, Physics, Player, Quality, Tags & Layers, and Time settings (get_*/set_*, gated by confirm/dry_run).
Package Manager commands	List / search / add / remove / resolve UPM packages and poll operation status.
Editor lifecycle & observability commands	Play / stop / pause, focus, menus, screenshots, console logs, performance stats, authoring root.
Runtime commands	Player-side commands: status, quit, frame rate, time scale, log, console, eval, code reload.

Command index

Every available command, grouped by area. Each name links to its full reference (parameters + return type).

Asset & file commands

Command	Description
create_asset	Create a ScriptableObject / Object asset at a path.
import_asset	Import an external file into the project.
move_asset	Move / rename an asset (keeps its GUID).
copy_asset	Copy an asset (fresh GUID).
rename_asset	Rename an asset in place.
delete_asset	Delete an asset (needs confirm).
find_assets	Find assets by type / name / label.
set_import_settings	Set an asset's importer settings and re-import.
get_import_settings	Read an asset's importer settings.
create_folder	Create a folder under the authoring root.
read_text_file	Read a UTF-8 text file.
write_text_file	Write a UTF-8 text file, then import it.

Scene commands

Command	Description
create_scene	Create and save a new scene.
open_scene	Open an existing scene.
save_scene	Save an open scene.
save_all	Save all dirty open scenes.
list_open_scenes	List open scenes and their state.
set_active_scene	Set which open scene is active.
get_scene_hierarchy	Return a scene's GameObject tree.
add_scene_to_build	Add a scene to Build Settings.
remove_scene_from_build	Remove a scene from Build Settings.

GameObject & component commands

Command	Description
create_gameobject	Create a GameObject or primitive.
create_gameobjects	Batch-create GameObjects / primitives.
find_gameobjects	Find GameObjects by name / tag / component / path.
set_transform	Set local position / rotation / scale.
set_parent	Reparent a GameObject (or detach to root).
set_active	Set a GameObject's active state.
set_tag	Set a GameObject's tag.
set_layer	Set a GameObject's layer.
rename_gameobject	Rename a GameObject.
delete_gameobject	Delete a GameObject (undoable).
add_component	Add a component by type name.
remove_component	Remove a component.
get_component_properties	Read a component's serialized properties.
set_component_properties	Set a component's serialized properties.

Prefab commands

Command	Description
create_prefab	Save a GameObject as a prefab.
instantiate_prefab	Instantiate a prefab into a scene.
create_prefab_variant	Create a prefab variant.
apply_prefab_overrides	Apply instance overrides to the source.
revert_prefab_overrides	Revert instance overrides.
unpack_prefab	Unpack a prefab instance.
save_prefab_contents	Edit a prefab in an isolated stage and save.

Script commands

Command	Description
create_script	Create a C# script from a template.
attach_script	Attach a MonoBehaviour by type / asset.
set_serialized_field	Set a serialized field on a component / asset.
get_serialized_fields	Read serialized fields.
run_script	Compile a project .cs file in memory (no domain reload) and run a named static entry point — the builder-pattern path for bulk construction.

Animation commands

Command	Description
create_animation_clip	Create an empty .anim AnimationClip.
set_animation_curve	Add / replace a float curve on a clip.
get_animation_clip	Read a clip's curves and metadata.
remove_animation_curve	Remove a curve binding (needs confirm).
create_animator_controller	Create an .controller AnimatorController.
add_animator_parameter	Add a parameter to a controller.
add_animator_layer	Add a layer to a controller.
add_animator_state	Add a state to a layer.
add_animator_transition	Add a transition between states.
get_animator_controller	Read a controller's full structure.
create_timeline	Create a .playable Timeline asset.
add_timeline_track	Add a track to a Timeline.
add_timeline_clip	Add a clip to a Timeline track.
get_timeline	Read a Timeline's structure.

Material & shader commands

Command	Description
get_material_properties	Read a material's shader and properties.
set_material_properties	Set material shader properties / keywords.
list_shaders	Discover available shaders.
get_shader_properties	Introspect a shader's property list.

Baking commands

Command	Description
bake_lighting	Async lightmap bake (poll lighting_bake_status).
lighting_bake_status	Status of the last lighting bake.
cancel_lighting_bake	Cancel an in-progress lighting bake.
clear_baked_lighting	Clear baked lightmaps (needs confirm).
get_lighting_settings	Read the active LightingSettings.
set_lighting_settings	Apply a subset of lighting settings.
bake_navmesh	Async legacy NavMesh bake (poll navmesh_bake_status).
navmesh_bake_status	Status of the last NavMesh bake.
cancel_navmesh_bake	Cancel an in-progress NavMesh bake.
clear_navmesh	Clear the baked NavMesh (needs confirm).
get_navmesh_settings	Read legacy NavMesh bake settings.
set_navmesh_settings	Apply a subset of NavMesh settings.
bake_navmesh_surfaces	Bake NavMeshSurface components (AI Navigation).
bake_occlusion_culling	Async occlusion bake (poll occlusion_bake_status).
occlusion_bake_status	Status of the last occlusion bake.
cancel_occlusion_bake	Cancel an in-progress occlusion bake.
clear_occlusion_culling	Clear baked occlusion data (needs confirm).

Navigation & selection commands

Command	Description
get_selection	Read the current Editor selection.
set_selection	Set the Editor selection.
search	Run a Unity Search query.

Capture commands

Command	Description
capture_game_view	Render a camera to a PNG (base64).
capture_scene_view	Render the Scene View to a PNG (base64).
capture_editor_element	Capture a UI Toolkit element from an EditorWindow (6000.7+).
capture_runtime_element	Capture a UI Toolkit element from a runtime panel (6000.7+).

Build, compilation & test commands

Command	Description
build	Async Player build (poll build_status).
build_status	Status / report of the current build.
switch_build_target	Switch the active build target (needs confirm).
switch_build_target_status	Status of the last target switch.
list_build_targets	List known build targets.
get_build_settings	Read build configuration.
set_build_settings	Set build configuration fields.
list_build_profiles	List Build Profile assets (Unity 6).
recompile	Force a script recompile (poll recompile_status).
recompile_status	Status of the last recompile.
list_tests	List available tests without running.
run_tests	Run Unity tests with filters.
test_status	Status of async test execution.
cancel_tests	Cancel running tests.

Project settings commands

Command	Description
get_audio_settings	Read Audio settings.
set_audio_settings	Change Audio settings (needs confirm).
get_graphics_settings	Read Graphics settings.
set_graphics_settings	Set the default render pipeline (needs confirm).
get_input_settings	Read legacy Input Manager axes.
set_input_settings	Tune a legacy input axis (needs confirm).
get_physics_settings	Read Physics settings.
set_physics_settings	Change Physics settings (needs confirm).
get_player_settings	Read PlayerSettings.
set_player_settings	Change PlayerSettings (needs confirm).
get_quality_settings	Read QualitySettings.
set_quality_settings	Change QualitySettings (needs confirm).
get_tags_layers	Read tags and layers.
set_tags_layers	Add / remove tags, name layers (needs confirm).
get_time_settings	Read Time settings.
set_time_settings	Change Time settings (needs confirm).

Package Manager commands

Command	Description
package_list	List packages by scope.
package_search	Search the registry.
package_add	Add a UPM package (needs confirm).
package_remove	Remove a UPM package (needs confirm).
package_resolve	Resolve / refresh packages.
package_status	Status of the last package operation.

Editor lifecycle & observability commands

Command	Description
editor_play	Enter play mode.
editor_stop	Exit play mode.
editor_pause	Toggle play mode pause.
editor_status	Detailed Editor status.
editor_focus	Bring the Editor to the foreground.
menu	Execute (or list) Editor menu items.
screenshot	Capture Scene / Game view to a PNG file.
set_autotick	Keep the editor ticking while unfocused.
get_performance_stats	Read render / memory / frame stats.
audit	Run a Project Auditor scan, producing a CSV of issues.
audit_status	Poll the audit scan; returns the CSV path + issue count.
report_evals	Ranked report of local eval-usage telemetry + command-coverage suggestions.
get_authoring_root	Get the authoring-root folder.
set_authoring_root	Set the authoring-root folder.

Runtime commands

Command	Description
runtime_status	Runtime application status.
quit	Quit the application.
set_target_framerate	Set the target frame rate.
set_timescale	Set the time scale.
simulate_key	Simulate a keyboard event (Input System).
simulate_pointer	Simulate a pointer event (Input System).
log	Write a message to the Unity console.
console	Read captured console output.
console_status	Console counters and compile-failure flag, without the entries.
clear_console	Clear the console / log buffer.
eval	Evaluate C# via Roslyn.
eval_file	Evaluate C# from a .cs file.
reload_file	Apply [CodeReload] edits from a file.
reload_file_editor_interpreter	Same, on the IlInterpreter backend (IL2CPP-safe).
reload_file_player_interpreter	Compile in the Editor and push [CodeReload] edits to connected players (IL2CPP-safe).
codereload_status	Code reload registry status.
cleanup_codereload	Clear old code reload DLLs / registry.