Project configuration

Use the XR Plug-in Management settings to configure the Google ARCore plug-in for your project.

To get started, follow the instructions in Enable the ARCore plug-in. This also installs the ARCore package, if needed. Once installed and enabled, you can configure your project settings as described in the ARCore Project settings section.

You can review the Project validation section of the XR Plug-in Management settings to discover if any setting values are incompatible with ARCore.

ARCore Project settings

Some ARCore features require specific Unity Project settings to function properly. The settings include:

  • Google ARCore XR plug-in enabled: must be enabled to use ARCore features.
  • Android API level: the minimum Android varies with the version of the ARCore plug-in and Unity Editor. Checked by the project validation system.
  • Graphics API: the ARCore plug-in supports both OpenGLES and Vulkan Graphics APIs.
  • Scripting Backend: you must use IL2CPP to use ARM64, which is the recommended target architecture.
  • Target Architectures: ARM64 is recommended so that your app can run on all 64-bit devices.
  • ARCore support Requirement: can be set to optional or required depending on whether your app can be used without ARCore support.
  • ARCore Depth support: can be set to optional or required depending on whether your app can be used without ARCore depth information.
  • Ignore Gradle Version: can be enabled to silence Gradle version warnings, typically from using a custom Gradle setup.

Enable the Google ARCore plug-in

To use ARCore, you must enable the plug-in in your XR Plug-in Management settings. (Installing the package from the Package Manager does not automatically enable the plug-in.)

Note

Enabling ARCore also installs the package, if necessary. However, disabling ARCore does not uninstall the package.

You must install the Android Module using the Unity Hub before you can enable the ARCore plug-in. See the Add modules section of the Unity Hub documentation for instructions.

To enable ARCore:

  1. Open the Project Settings window (menu: Edit > Project Settings).

  2. Select XR Plug-in Management to view the plug-in management settings.

  3. Select the Android tab to view the Android settings. (This tab is only shown when you have installed the Editor Android Module.)

  4. Enable the ARCore option in the Plug-in Providers list.

    XR Plug-in Management
    Enabling ARCore

Set the Android API Level

The minimum version of Android that supports ARCore varies with which versions of the ARCore plug-in and Unity Editor you are using. Use the Project Validation system to check this setting and, if necessary, change it to a supported level.

To check the API level:

  1. Open the Project Settings window (menu: Edit > Project Settings).

  2. Click XR Plug-in Management on the left to open the plug-in provider list.

  3. Select Project Validation in the list to view the validation page.

  4. Select the Android tab to view the status of the validation checks for Android XR plug-ins, including ARCore.

  5. If the Android API level check appears with a red error icon, the current setting is too low. Click the Fix button to raise the API level to the minimum supported value.

    Android API level error
    Use the Project Validation page to check the Android API level

Tip

Enable the Show all option if the Android API level check is not shown (because the current setting passes validation). The validation message shown in the issue list contains the minimum API level for your current configuration.

You can also change the setting manually in the Player settings. To find the minimum API level setting:

  1. Open the Project Settings window (menu: Edit > Project Settings).
  2. Select Player on the left to view the Player Settings page.
  3. Select the Android tab to view the Android settings.
  4. Open the Other Settings group (if necessary).
  5. Scroll down to the Configuration section.

Set the Graphics API

The ARCore plugin is compatible with both OpenGL ES and Vulkan Graphics APIs.

To set the Graphics API:

  1. Open the Project Settings window (menu: Edit > Project Settings).
  2. Select Player on the left to view the Player Settings page.
  3. Select the Android tab to view the Android settings.
  4. Open the Other Settings group (if necessary).
  5. In the Rendering section, uncheck the Auto Graphics API option (if enabled).
  6. To use the OpenGL ES Graphics API - In the Graphics APIs list:
    • Add OpenGLES3 if it does not appear in the list.
    • Drag OpenGLES3 to the top of the list if it is not the first API in the list.
  7. To use the Vulkan Graphics API - In the Graphics APIs list:
    • Add Vulkan if it does not appear in the list.
    • Drag Vulkan to the top of the list if it is not the first API in the list.
  8. In addition, to use the Vulkan Graphics API with the Universal Render Pipeline: Locate your active Universal Renderer asset. In its Inspector, add an ARCommandBufferSupportRendererFeature to the list of Renderer Features.
Note

It is recommended to use OpenGLES3 as the second Graphics API when using Vulkan as the first Graphics API and AR is 'Required', so that devices that do not support the needed Vulkan extension fall back to a working renderer.

Set the Target Architecture

Unity recommends that you always enable the ARM64 target architecture for ARCore projects. If you only support, ARMv7, which is a 32-bit architecture, your app cannot be installed through the Google Playstore on 64-bit devices. In addition, 32-bit ARCore libraries are no longer available on some 64-bit devices, so your app could fail to create an AR session or crash if installed outside the Playstore. See ARCore 64-bit requirement in Google's ARCore documentation for more information.

To set the Android target architecture:

  1. Open the Project Settings window (menu: Edit > Project Settings).
  2. Select Player on the left to view the Player Settings page.
  3. Select the Android tab to view the Android settings.
  4. Open the Other Settings group (if necessary).
  5. Scroll down to the Configuration section.
  6. Under Target Architectures, enable the ARM64 option.
Note

Before you can enable the ARM64 architecture, you must Set the Scripting Backend to IL2CPP. The Mono backend does not support ARM64.

Set the Scripting Backend

To use the recommended ARM64 architecture, you must also use the IL2CPP scripting backend.

To set the IL2CPP scripting backend:

  1. Open the Project Settings window (menu: Edit > Project Settings).
  2. Select Player on the left to view the Player Settings page.
  3. Select the Android tab to view the Android settings.
  4. Open the Other Settings group (if necessary).
  5. Scroll down to the Configuration section.
  6. For Scripting Backend, choose IL2CPP.

See IL2CPP Overview for more information about the IL2CPP scripting backend.

Set the ARCore support requirement

If your app cannot function without ARCore support, you can prevent it from being installed on devices without ARCore support using the ARCore plug-in Requirement setting. Choose Required if your app only works with ARCore support. Choose Optional if your app works with or without ARCore.

You must install the ARCore package before you can change the ARCore Requirement setting. See Enable the Google ARCore plug-in for instructions.

To change this setting:

  1. Open the Project Settings window (menu: Edit > Project Settings).

  2. Click XR Plug-in Management on the left to open the plug-in provider list.

  3. Select ARCore in the list to view the ARCore plug-in settings page.

    ARCore Settings
    ARCore plug-in settings

  4. For Requirement, choose either Optional or Required.

Note

If you set ARCore as Required and install your app on a device that does not support ARCore -- which you can do using Unity's Build and Run feature or by "side-loading" via USB -- the device will incorrectly report that ARCore is available. (This is because the Google Play Store prevents the installation of apps that require ARCore on unsupported devices, so these apps always assume they're running on a supported device.)

Set ARCore Depth support

If your app cannot function without ARCore depth support, you can prevent prevent it from being installed on devices without depth support by setting the ARCore plug-in Depth setting to Required. Alternately, if your app can function acceptably without depth information, you can make support optional. See Depth adds realism in Google's ARCore documentation for more information about the ARCore depth feature.

To change this setting:

  1. Open the Project Settings window (menu: Edit > Project Settings).
  2. Click XR Plug-in Management on the left to open the plug-in provider list.
  3. Select ARCore in the list to view the ARCore plug-in settings page.
  4. For Depth, choose either Optional or Required.

Ignore Gradle Version

When you build an Android Player with ARCore enabled, the ARCore package checks the Gradle version and warns you if it determines the Gradle version to be too low. The version of Gradle required depends on the version of the Unity Editor you are using. Normally, the required version of Gradle is installed when you add Android Build support using the Unity Hub. However, if you use a custom Android SDK or Gradle setup, a version mismatch could occur. If you have verified that your installed version of Gradle works for your purposes, you can silence this warning by enabling the Ignore Gradle Version option.

To change this setting:

  1. Open the Project Settings window (menu: Edit > Project Settings).
  2. Click XR Plug-in Management on the left to open the plug-in provider list.
  3. Select ARCore in the list to view the ARCore plug-in settings page.
  4. Click the checkbox for Ignore Gradle Version, to enable or disable the option.

See Gradle for Android for more information about Gradle.

Project validation

The Google ARCore package defines a set of rules for the Project Validation system. These rules check for possible incompatibilities between ARCore and the project configuration.

Some of the rules serve as warnings for possible configuration problems; you are not required to fix these. Other rules flag configuration errors that would result in your app failing to build or not working once built. You must fix these errors.

To review the ARCore project validation results:

  1. Open the Project Settings window (menu: Edit > Project Settings).
  2. Click XR Plug-in Management on the left to open the plug-in provider list.
  3. Select Project Validation in the list to view the validation page.
  4. Select the Android tab to view the status of the validation checks for Android XR plug-ins, including ARCore.

Rules that pass validation are not shown unless you enable Show all.

Some rules provide a Fix button that updates the configuration so that the rule passes validation. Other rules provide an Edit button that takes you to the relevant setting so that you can make the necessary adjustments yourself.

You can enable Ignore build errors to bypass the pre-build validation check. However, any misconfigured features in your app might not work at runtime.

Project Validation ARCore
The Android Project Validation section of the XR Plug-in Management page