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: [CliGroupCommand]/[CliArg], groups and names, the handler + response pattern, the MainThreadRequired flag and the runtime tag.
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 the loopback address, the port ranges, the port/descriptor file, and the bearer-token auth workflow.
Runtime connection & setup Running the server in a Player via Project Settings → Pipeline → Runtime, and how the build gating works.
Reloading code Updating [MethodReload] methods in a running game: the Assembly.Load and interpreter backends, supported changes, the watcher, and how the woven dispatch works.
Scene Preview Building a content archive for any asset on demand and loading it in a player: the preview build profile and preview assemblies settings, PreviewSceneArtifactImporter, and ContentArchiveLoader.
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.
Samples Where the samples live (com.unity.pipeline.samples), how to add the package and import a sample, and what each one demonstrates.

Command index

Every available command, grouped by area. Each entry is the command as typed on the command line, unity command <group> <name>, and links to its full reference (parameters + return type). In a JSON request, a batch operation or an MCP-style call, the command is named the same way, <group> <name>.

Asset & file commands

Command Description
asset create Create a ScriptableObject / Object asset at a path.
asset import Import an external file into the project.
asset move Move / rename an asset (keeps its GUID).
asset copy Copy an asset (fresh GUID).
asset rename Rename an asset in place.
asset delete Delete an asset (needs confirm).
asset find Find assets by type / name / label.
asset set_import_settings Set an asset's importer settings and re-import.
asset get_import_settings Read an asset's importer settings.
asset create_folder Create a folder under the authoring root.
asset read_text Read a UTF-8 text file.
asset write_text Write a UTF-8 text file, then import it.

Scene commands

Command Description
scene create Create and save a new scene.
scene open Open an existing scene.
scene save Save an open scene.
editor save_all Save all dirty open scenes.
scene list_open List open scenes and their state.
scene set_active Set which open scene is active.
scene get_hierarchy Return a scene's GameObject tree.
scene add_to_build Add a scene to Build Settings.
scene remove_from_build Remove a scene from Build Settings.

GameObject & component commands

Command Description
gameobject create Create a GameObject or primitive.
gameobject create_many Batch-create GameObjects / primitives.
gameobject find Find GameObjects by name / tag / component / path.
gameobject set_transform Set local position / rotation / scale.
gameobject set_parent Reparent a GameObject (or detach to root).
gameobject set_active Set a GameObject's active state.
gameobject set_tag Set a GameObject's tag.
gameobject set_layer Set a GameObject's layer.
gameobject rename Rename a GameObject.
gameobject delete Delete a GameObject (undoable).
component add Add a component by type name.
component remove Remove a component.
component get_properties Read a component's serialized properties.
component set_properties Set a component's serialized properties.

Prefab commands

Command Description
prefab create Save a GameObject as a prefab.
prefab instantiate Instantiate a prefab into a scene.
prefab create_variant Create a prefab variant.
prefab apply_overrides Apply instance overrides to the source.
prefab revert_overrides Revert instance overrides.
prefab unpack Unpack a prefab instance.
prefab save_contents Edit a prefab in an isolated stage and save.

Script commands

Command Description
script create Create a C# script from a template.
script attach Attach a MonoBehaviour by type / asset.
component set_field Set a serialized field on a component / asset.
component get_fields Read serialized fields.
script eval Compile and run a C# script, inline or from a file, with await support. Editor and Player.
script run 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
animation.clip create Create an empty .anim AnimationClip.
animation.clip set_curve Add / replace a float curve on a clip.
animation.clip get Read a clip's curves and metadata.
animation.clip remove_curve Remove a curve binding (needs confirm).
animation.animator create_controller Create an .controller AnimatorController.
animation.animator add_parameter Add a parameter to a controller.
animation.animator add_layer Add a layer to a controller.
animation.animator add_state Add a state to a layer.
animation.animator add_transition Add a transition between states.
animation.animator get_controller Read a controller's full structure.
animation.timeline create Create a .playable Timeline asset.
animation.timeline add_track Add a track to a Timeline.
animation.timeline add_clip Add a clip to a Timeline track.
animation.timeline get Read a Timeline's structure.

Material & shader commands

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

Baking commands

Command Description
lighting bake Async lightmap bake (poll lighting bake_status).
lighting bake_status Status of the last lighting bake.
lighting cancel_bake Cancel an in-progress lighting bake.
lighting clear_bake Clear baked lightmaps (needs confirm).
lighting get_settings Read the active LightingSettings.
lighting set_settings Apply a subset of lighting settings.
navmesh bake Async legacy NavMesh bake (poll navmesh bake_status).
navmesh bake_status Status of the last NavMesh bake.
navmesh cancel_bake Cancel an in-progress NavMesh bake.
navmesh clear_bake Clear the baked NavMesh (needs confirm).
navmesh get_settings Read legacy NavMesh bake settings.
navmesh set_settings Apply a subset of NavMesh settings.
navmesh bake_surfaces Bake NavMeshSurface components (AI Navigation).
occlusion bake Async occlusion bake (poll occlusion bake_status).
occlusion bake_status Status of the last occlusion bake.
occlusion cancel_bake Cancel an in-progress occlusion bake.
occlusion clear_bake Clear baked occlusion data (needs confirm).

Navigation & selection commands

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

Capture commands

Command Description
capture game_view Capture the game view 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 run Async Player build (poll build status).
build status Status / report of the current build.
build.target switch Switch the active build target (needs confirm).
build.target switch_status Status of the last target switch.
build.target list List known build targets.
build get_settings Read build configuration.
build set_settings Set build configuration fields.
build list_profiles List Build Profile assets (Unity 6).
build list_platforms List platforms a Build Profile can target (Unity 6).
build create_profile Create a Build Profile asset for a platform (Unity 6).
build set_profile Edit a Build Profile's scene list and scripting defines (Unity 6).
script recompile Force a script recompile (poll script recompile_status).
script recompile_status Status of the last recompile.
test list List available tests without running.
test run Run Unity tests with filters.
test status Status of async test execution.
test cancel Cancel running tests.

Project settings commands

Command Description
settings.audio get Read Audio settings.
settings.audio set Change Audio settings (needs confirm).
settings.graphics get Read Graphics settings.
settings.graphics set Set the default render pipeline (needs confirm).
settings.input get Read legacy Input Manager axes.
settings.input set Tune a legacy input axis (needs confirm).
settings.multiplayer_roles get Read Multiplayer Roles settings (6000.6+).
settings.multiplayer_roles set Enable roles, safety checks and server stripping (needs confirm; 6000.6+).
settings.physics get Read Physics settings.
settings.physics set Change Physics settings (needs confirm).
settings.player get Read PlayerSettings.
settings.player set Change PlayerSettings (needs confirm).
settings.quality get Read QualitySettings.
settings.quality set Change QualitySettings (needs confirm).
settings.runtime_pipeline get Read Pipeline Runtime settings (enableInDevelopmentBuilds, enableInReleaseBuilds, port, enableAuditLogging, autoStart, maxWorkItemsPerFrame).
settings.runtime_pipeline set Change Pipeline Runtime settings.
settings.tags_layers get Read tags and layers.
settings.tags_layers set Add / remove tags, name layers (needs confirm).
settings.time get Read Time settings.
settings.time set 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.playmode start Enter play mode.
editor.playmode set_run_in_background Override the project's Run In Background Player Setting.
editor.playmode stop Exit play mode.
editor.playmode pause Toggle play mode pause.
editor status Detailed Editor status.
editor focus Bring the Editor to the foreground.
editor invoke_menu Execute (or list) Editor menu items.
editor quit Quit the Editor, saving or discarding unsaved changes.
editor set_auto_tick Keep the editor ticking while unfocused.
diagnostics get_performance Read render / memory / frame stats.
diagnostics run_audit Run a Project Auditor scan, producing a CSV of issues.
diagnostics audit_status Poll the audit scan; returns the CSV path + issue count.
diagnostics report_evals Ranked report of local eval-usage telemetry + command-coverage suggestions.
authoring get_root Get the authoring-root folder.
authoring set_root Set the authoring-root folder.

Profiling & memory capture commands

Command Description
diagnostics profiler_targets List the Editor and connected Players the Profiler can connect to.
diagnostics profiler_connect Point the Profiler connection at a target.
diagnostics profiler_record Record Profiler frames to a .data file.
diagnostics profiler_record_stop Stop the recording early and save what was recorded.
diagnostics profiler_record_status Poll the recording; returns the .data path + frame counts.
diagnostics profiler_session Open a capture session on a saved .data capture, or list the open ones.
diagnostics profiler_close Close a capture session (or all of them).
diagnostics profiler_summary Summarize a capture session: frame-time and GC statistics; rank frames by CPU, GC or GPU time and flag hiccups.
diagnostics profiler_frame Break down one frame: bottleneck, hot path, top self-time and GC samples.
diagnostics profiler_markers Aggregate CPU or GPU markers over a frame range.
diagnostics profiler_counters List a capture's counters, or summarize chosen ones over a frame range.
diagnostics profiler_sample Read one sample of a capture session, by marker path or sampleId, with its children's share of it.
diagnostics memory_snapshot Capture a memory snapshot to a .snap file.
diagnostics memory_snapshot_status Poll the snapshot; returns the .snap path + size.

Multiplayer Play Mode & instance commands

Command Description
editor.playmode list_scenarios List Play Mode Scenario assets.
editor.playmode list_players List the players a scenario declares.
editor.playmode set_active_scenario Set the active scenario (Idle only).
editor.playmode start_scenario Start the active scenario.
editor.playmode stop_scenario Stop the running scenario.
editor.playmode get_scenario_status Live scenario state + each player's run state and address.
editor.playmode create_scenario Create a scenario asset.
editor.playmode add_player Add a clone / local player to a scenario.
editor.playmode remove_player Remove a scenario player by id.
editor.playmode list_instances List running Editor instances (this Editor + its clones).

Multiplayer Roles commands

Command Description
multiplayer.role get_active Get the Editor's role and whether roles are enabled.
multiplayer.role set_active Set the role the Editor runs as in Play Mode.
multiplayer.role get_game_object Get the roles a GameObject is kept for.
multiplayer.role set_game_object Set the roles a GameObject is kept for.
multiplayer.role get_component Get the roles a component is kept for.
multiplayer.role set_component Set the roles a component is kept for.
multiplayer.role get_build Get the role a build profile builds for.
multiplayer.role set_build Set the role a build profile builds for.
multiplayer.role list_component_types List component types kept for specific roles project-wide.
multiplayer.role set_component_type Keep a component type for specific roles project-wide.

Runtime commands

Command Description
runtime status Runtime application status.
runtime quit Quit the application.
runtime set_target_frame_rate Set the target frame rate.
runtime set_time_scale Set the time scale.
runtime simulate_key Simulate a keyboard event (Input System).
runtime simulate_pointer Simulate a pointer event (Input System).
console write Write a message to the Unity console.
console get Read captured console output.
console status Console counters and compile-failure flag, without the entries.
console clear Clear the console / log buffer.
script.methodreload reload Apply [MethodReload] edits from a file.
script.methodreload reload_editor Same, on the IlInterpreter backend (IL2CPP-safe).
script.methodreload reload_player Compile in the Editor and push [MethodReload] edits to connected players (IL2CPP-safe).
script.methodreload status Method reload registry status.
script.methodreload generate_link_xml Generate the method-reload link.xml for IL2CPP device builds.
script.methodreload cleanup Clear old method reload DLLs / registry.

Pipeline commands

Command Description
pipeline progress Progress of the running command.
pipeline list_commands List, filter and group the registered commands.

Batch command

Command Description
job batch Run multiple registered commands in one transactional request.

Additional resources