Unity Extension

The UnityIDE Unity Extension connects your Unity Editor to UnityIDE over IPC, enabling real-time communication between the two. Once installed, you can edit scripts, control play mode, stream console logs, run tests, and more — all from the IDE.

Installation

Option 1 — Download & Import (Recommended)

1. Download the package: com.unityide.editor.tgz
2. In Unity, go to Window > Package Manager
3. Click + > Add package from tarball…
4. Browse to the downloaded .tgz file and click Open

Option 2 — Edit manifest.json

Open your Unity project’s Packages/manifest.json and add this line to the "dependencies" block:

"com.unityide.editor": "https://releases.unityide.app/unity-extension-releases/latest/com.unityide.editor.tgz"

Save the file. Unity will download and install the package automatically.

Option 3 — Unity Package Manager UI

1. Open Unity Editor
2. Go to Window > Package Manager
3. Click the + button (top-left) > Add package by name…
4. Paste the URL:

   https://releases.unityide.app/unity-extension-releases/latest/com.unityide.editor.tgz

5. Click Add

Setup

The first time Unity loads the package on a machine with UnityIDE installed, it offers to make UnityIDE the editor that opens your scripts. Choose Use UnityIDE and you are done — the offer is made once, and declining it changes nothing.

To set it yourself, or to change it later:

1. Go to Edit > Preferences > External Tools
2. Set External Script Editor to UnityIDE

That panel also reports where UnityIDE was found and whether it currently has this project open, and lets you point it at a copy in a non-default location.

Release and dev builds

The package ships twice, and the two are not interchangeable: com.unityide.editor opens UnityIDE, and com.unityide.editor.dev opens UnityIDE Dev. Install the one that matches the application you are running — installing either removes the other, so a project always has exactly one.

Unless you are testing a dev build of UnityIDE itself, you want the release package, which is what every link on this page points at. The dev package lives at https://releases.unityide.app/unity-extension-releases/dev/latest/com.unityide.editor.dev.tgz and installs the same three ways.

How UnityIDE is opened

Wherever possible the extension hands the request to your operating system as a unityide://open link, rather than going looking for the application itself. The OS already knows where UnityIDE is installed and how to bring it forward, so this works for a copy in any location.

If no handler is registered — on Windows the link is registered the first time you run UnityIDE, so a fresh install that has never been opened has none yet — the extension falls back to launching the application directly. UnityIDE writes its own location to ~/.unityide/install.json every time it runs, so a copy installed anywhere is found as soon as you have launched it once.

Failing that, these default install locations are checked:

Platform	Default Paths
macOS	/Applications/UnityIDE.app, ~/Applications/UnityIDE.app
Windows	%LOCALAPPDATA%\UnityIDE\UnityIDE.exe, C:\Program Files\UnityIDE\UnityIDE.exe
Linux	/usr/bin/unityide, /usr/local/bin/unityide, ~/.local/bin/unityide

Features

Opening your project

Window > UnityIDE > Open Project in UnityIDE opens the current project in UnityIDE, launching it if it is not already running and bringing it to the front if it is. Unity’s own Assets > Open C# Project does the same thing once UnityIDE is your external script editor.

Script Editing

Double-click any .cs file in Unity to open it in UnityIDE, at the right line and in a focused tab. If the IDE already has the project open the file is sent over the existing IPC connection — no second process, no window flash. Otherwise UnityIDE is launched with the file and position.

Console Streaming

Unity console logs (messages, warnings, errors) are streamed to the IDE’s console panel in real-time. Logs are batched and deduplicated. Stack traces are parsed with clickable file references.

Play Controls

Control Unity’s play mode directly from the IDE:

• Play — Enter play mode
• Pause — Pause play mode
• Stop — Exit play mode
• Step — Advance a single frame (while paused)

Play state changes in Unity are reflected in the IDE toolbar instantly.

Build Management

Trigger Unity builds from the IDE with configurable options:

• Target platform
• Development build toggle
• Script debugging toggle
• Auto-run after build

Build progress and results (including errors) are streamed back to the IDE.

Inspector Field Sync

Changes to component fields in Unity’s Inspector are detected and reported to the IDE. The IDE can also edit field values remotely — supporting scenes and prefabs, with type-safe handling of int, float, bool, string, enum, Vector2/3/4, Color, and Quaternion.

Test Runner

Run Unity tests from the IDE (requires com.unity.test-framework package):

• EditMode and PlayMode tests
• Optional name filter
• Individual test results streamed as they complete
• Aggregate summary on completion

Project Generation

Generates .sln and .csproj files for C# IntelliSense support. The extension auto-detects available IDE packages (com.unity.ide.vscode, com.unity.ide.visualstudio) and uses them via reflection.

Compatibility

Unity Version	Status
2021.3 LTS	Supported
2022.3 LTS	Supported
Unity 6 (6000.x)	Supported

Platforms

• macOS (Apple Silicon)
• Windows 10/11
• Linux (Ubuntu 20.04+)

Troubleshooting

UnityIDE not appearing in External Tools dropdown? Restart Unity after installing the package. If it still doesn’t appear, check that the package is listed in Window > Package Manager.

Connection not established?

• Make sure UnityIDE is running and has the same project open
• Check UnityIDE > Settings for connection status
• Both Unity and the IDE must be pointed at the same project path

Console logs not appearing in IDE? Verify the connection is active in UnityIDE > Settings. Logs are only streamed while connected.

Want detailed logs for debugging? Add UNITYIDE_VERBOSE to Player Settings > Scripting Define Symbols to enable verbose logging. By default, only errors are logged to keep the console clean.

Test runner not available? Install com.unity.test-framework via Package Manager. The extension detects it automatically and enables test runner commands.