You can run Unity from the command line (from the macOS Terminal or the Windows Command Prompt).
On macOS, type the following into the Terminal to launch Unity:
/Applications/Unity/Unity.app/Contents/MacOS/Unity
On Windows, type the following into the Command Prompt to launch Unity:
C:\Program Files\Unity\Editor\Unity.exe
When you launch it like this, Unity receives commands and information on startup, which can be very useful for test suites, automated builds and other production tasks.
Note: Use the same method to launch standalone Unity games.
On macOS, type the following into the Terminal to silently launch Unity:
/Applications/Unity/Unity.app/Contents/MacOS/Unity -quit -batchmode -serial SB-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX -username 'JoeBloggs@example.com' -password 'MyPassw0rd'
Note: When activating via the command line using continuous integration (CI) tools like Jenkins, add the -nographics flag to prevent a WindowServer error.
On Windows, type the following into the Command Prompt to silently launch Unity:
"C:\Program Files\Unity\Editor\Unity.exe" -quit -batchmode -serial SB-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX -username "JoeBloggs@example.com" -password "MyPassw0rd"
On macOS, type the following into the Terminal to return the license:
/Applications/Unity/Unity.app/Contents/MacOS/Unity -quit -batchmode -returnlicense
On Windows, type the following into the Command Prompt to return the license:
"C:\Program Files\Unity\Editor\Unity.exe" -quit -batchmode -returnlicense
On macOS, type the following into the Terminal:
/Applications/Unity/Unity.app/Contents/MacOS/Unity -batchmode -createManualActivationFile -logfile
/Applications/Unity/Unity.app/Contents/MacOS/Unity -batchmode -manualLicenseFile <yourulffile> -logfile
On Windows, type the following into the Command Prompt:
"C:\Program Files\Unity\Editor\Unity.exe" -batchmode -createManualActivationFile -logfile
"C:\Program Files\Unity\Editor\Unity.exe" -batchmode -manualLicenseFile <yourulffile> -logfile
Check Manual Activation Guide for more details.
You can run the Editor and built Unity games with additional commands and information on startup. This section describes the command line options available.
| Command | Details |
|---|---|
| -assetServerUpdate <IP[:port] projectName username password [r <revision>]> | Force an update of the project in the Asset Server given by IP:port. The port is optional, and if not given it is assumed to be the standard one (10733). It is advisable to use this command in conjunction with the -projectPath argument to ensure you are working with the correct project. If you don’t give a project name, then the command line uses the last project opened by Unity. If no project exists at the path -projectPath gives, then the command line creates one automatically. |
| -batchmode | Run Unity in batch mode. You should always use this in conjunction with the other command line arguments, because it ensures no pop-up windows appear and eliminates the need for any human intervention. When an exception occurs during execution of the script code, the Asset server updates fail, or other operations fail, Unity immediately exits with return code 1. Note that in batch mode, Unity sends a minimal version of its log output to the console. However, the Log Files still contain the full log information. You cannot open a project in batch mode while the Editor has the same project open; only a single instance of Unity can run at a time. Tip: To check whether you are running the Editor or Standalone Player in batch mode, use the Application.isBatchMode operator. |
| -buildLinux32Player <pathname> | Build a 32-bit standalone Linux player (for example, -buildLinux32Player path/to/your/build). |
| -buildLinux64Player <pathname> | Build a 64-bit standalone Linux player (for example, -buildLinux64Player path/to/your/build). |
| -buildLinuxUniversalPlayer <pathname> | Build a combined 32-bit and 64-bit standalone Linux player (for example, -buildLinuxUniversalPlayer path/to/your/build). |
| -buildOSXPlayer <pathname> | Build a 32-bit standalone Mac OSX player (for example, -buildOSXPlayer path/to/your/build.app). |
| -buildOSX64Player <pathname> | Build a 64-bit standalone Mac OSX player (for example, -buildOSX64Player path/to/your/build.app). |
| -buildOSXUniversalPlayer <pathname> | Build a combined 32-bit and 64-bit standalone Mac OSX player (for example, -buildOSXUniversalPlayer path/to/your/build.app). |
| -buildTarget <name> | Allows the selection of an active build target before loading a project. Possible options are: standalone, Win, Win64, OSXUniversal, Linux, Linux64, LinuxUniversal, iOS, Android, Web, WebStreamed, WebGL, XboxOne, PS4, PSP2, WindowsStoreApps, Switch, N3DS, tvOS, PSM. |
| -buildWindowsPlayer <pathname> | Build a 32-bit standalone Windows player (for example, -buildWindowsPlayer path/to/your/build.exe). |
| -buildWindows64Player <pathname> | Build a 64-bit standalone Windows player (for example, -buildWindows64Player path/to/your/build.exe). |
| -stackTraceLogType | Detailed debugging feature. StackTraceLogging allows you to allow detailed logging. All settings allow None, Script Only and Full to be selected. (for example, -stackTraceLogType Full) |
| -CacheServerIPAddress <host:port> | Connect to the specified Cache Server on startup, overriding any configuration stored in the Editor Preferences. Use this to connect multiple instances of Unity to different Cache Servers. |
| -createProject <pathname> | Create an empty project at the given path. |
| -editorTestsCategories | Filter editor tests by categories. Separate test categories with a comma. |
| -editorTestsFilter | Filter editor tests by names. Separate test names with a comma. |
| -editorTestsResultFile | Path location to place the result file. If the path is a folder, the command line uses a default file name. If not specified, it places the results in the project’s root folder. |
| -executeMethod <ClassName.MethodName> | Execute the static method as soon as Unity opens the project, and after the optional Asset server update is complete. You can use this to do tasks such as continous integration, performing Unit Tests, making builds or preparing data. To return an error from the command line process, either throw an exception which causes Unity to exit with return code 1, or call EditorApplication.Exit with a non-zero return code. To pass parameters, add them to the command line and retrieve them inside the function using System.Environment.GetCommandLineArgs. To use -executeMethod, you need to place the enclosing script in an Editor folder. The method you execute must be defined as static. |
| -exportPackage <exportAssetPath1 exportAssetPath2 ExportAssetPath3 exportFileName> | Export a package, given a path (or set of given paths). In this example exportAssetPath is a folder (relative to to the Unity project root) to export from the Unity project, and exportFileName is the package name. Currently, this option only exports whole folders at a time. You normally need to use this command with the -projectPath argument. |
| -force-d3d11 (Windows only) | Make the Editor use Direct3D 11 for renderingThe process of drawing graphics to the screen (or to a render texture). By default, the main camera in Unity renders its view to the screen. More info See in Glossary. Normally the graphics API depends on player settingsA settings manager that lets you set various player-specific options for the final game built by Unity. More info See in Glossary (typically defaults to D3D11). |
| -force-device-index | When using Metal, make the Editor use a particular GPU device by passing it the index of that GPU (macOS only). |
| -force-gfx-metal | Make the Editor use Metal as the default graphics API (macOS only). |
| -force-glcore | Make the Editor use OpenGL 3/4 core profile for rendering. The Editor tries to use the best OpenGL version available and all OpenGL extensions exposed by the OpenGL drivers. If the platform isn’t supported, Direct3D is used. |
| -force-glcoreXY | Similar to -force-glcore, but requests a specific OpenGL context version. Accepted values for XY: 32, 33, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44 or 45. |
| -force-gles (Windows only) | Make the Editor use OpenGL for Embedded Systems for rendering. The Editor tries to use the best OpenGL ES version available, and all OpenGL ES extensions exposed by the OpenGL drivers. |
| -force-glesXY (Windows only) | Similar to -force-gles, but requests a specific OpenGL ES context version. Accepted values for XY: 30, 31 or 32. |
| -force-clamped | Used with -force-glcoreXY to prevent checking for additional OpenGL extensions, allowing it to run between platforms with the same code paths. |
| -force-free | Make the Editor run as if there is a free Unity license on the machine, even if a Unity Pro license is installed. |
| -force-low-power-device | When using Metal, make the Editor use a low power device (macOS only). |
| -importPackage <pathname> | Import the given package. No import dialog is shown. |
| -logFile <pathname> | Specify where the Editor or Windows/Linux/OSX standalone log file are written. If the path is ommitted, OSX and Linux will write output to the console. Windows uses the path %LOCALAPPDATA%\Unity\Editor\Editor.log as a default. |
| -nographics | When running in batch mode, do not initialize the graphics device at all. This makes it possible to run your automated workflows on machines that don’t even have a GPU (automated workflows only work when you have a window in focus, otherwise you can’t send simulated input commands). Note that -nographics does not allow you to bake GI, because EnlightenThe lighting system by Geomerics used in Unity for computing global illumination (GI). More infoSee in Glossary requires GPU acceleration. |
| -noUpm | Disables the Unity Package Manager. |
| -password <password> | Enter a password into the log-in form during activation of the Unity Editor. |
| -projectPath <pathname> | Open the project at the given path. |
| -quit | Quit the Unity Editor after other commands have finished executing. Note that this can cause error messages to be hidden (however, they still appear in the Editor.log file). |
| -returnlicense | Return the currently active license to the license server. Please allow a few seconds before the license file is removed, because Unity needs to communicate with the license server. |
| -runEditorTests | Run Editor tests from the project. This argument requires the projectPath, and it’s good practice to run it with batchmode argument. quit is not required, because the Editor automatically closes down after the run is finished. |
| -serial <serial> | Activate Unity with the specified serial key. It is good practice to pass the -batchmode and -quit arguments as well, in order to quit Unity when done, if using this for automated activation of Unity. Please allow a few seconds before the license file is created, because Unity needs to communicate with the license server. Make sure that license file folder exists, and has appropriate permissions before running Unity with this argument. If activation fails, see the Editor.log for info. |
| -setDefaultPlatformTextureFormat | Sets the default texture compression to the desired format before importing a texture or building the project. This is so you don’t have to import the texture again with the format you want. The available formats are dxt, pvrtc, atc, etc, etc2, and astc. Note that this is only supported on Android. |
| -silent-crashes | Prevent Unity from displaying the dialog that appears when a Standalone Player crashes. This argument is useful when you want to run the Player in automated builds or tests, where you don’t want a dialog prompt to obstruct automation. |
| -username <username> | Enter a username into the log-in form during activation of the Unity Editor. |
| -disable-assembly-updater <assembly1 assembly2> | Specify a space-separated list of assembly names as parameters for Unity to ignore on automatic updates. The space-separated list of assembly names is optional: Pass the command line options without any assembly names to ignore all assemblies, as in example 1. Example 1 unity.exe -disable-assembly-updaterExample 2 has two assembly names, one with a pathname. Example 2 ignores A1.dll, no matter what folder it is stored in, and ignores A2.dll only if it is stored under subfolder folder:Example 2 unity.exe -disable-assembly-updater A1.dll subfolder/A2.dllIf you list an assembly in the -disable-assembly-updater command line parameter (or if you don’t specify assemblies), Unity logs the following message to Editor.log: [Assembly Updater] warning: Ignoring assembly [assembly_path] as requested by command line parameter.”). Use this to avoid unnecessary API Updater overheads when importing assemblies. It is useful for importing assemblies which access a Unity API when you know the Unity API doesn’t need updating. It is also useful when importing assemblies which do not access Unity APIs at all (for example, if you have built your game source code, or some of it, outside of Unity, and you want to import the resulting assemblies into your Unity project). Note: If you disable the update of any assembly that does need updating, you may get errors at compile time, run time, or both, that are hard to track. |
| -accept-apiupdate | Use this command line option to specify that APIUpdater should run when Unity is launched in batch mode. Example: unity.exe -accept-apiupdate -batchmode [other params]Omitting this command line argument when launching Unity in batch mode results in APIUpdater not running which can lead to compiler errors. Note that in versions prior to 2017.2 there’s no way to not run APIUpdater when Unity is launched in batch mode. |
using UnityEditor;
class MyEditorScript
{
static void PerformBuild ()
{
string[] scenes = { "Assets/MyScene.unity" };
BuildPipeline.BuildPlayer(scenes, ...);
}
}
The following command executes Unity in batch mode, executes the MyEditorScript.PerformBuild method, and then quits upon completion.
Windows:
C:\program files\Unity\Editor\Unity.exe -quit -batchmode -executeMethod MyEditorScript.PerformBuild
Mac OS:
/Applications/Unity/Unity.app/Contents/MacOS/Unity -quit -batchmode -executeMethod MyEditorScript.PerformBuild
The following command executes Unity in batch mode, and updates from the Asset serverLegacy - An asset and version control system with a graphical user interface integrated into Unity. Enables team members to work together on a Project on different computers. More info
See in Glossary using the supplied project path. The method executes after all AssetsAny media or data that can be used in your game or Project. An asset may come from a file created outside of Unity, such as a 3D model, an audio file or an image. You can also create some asset types in Unity, such as an Animator Controller, an Audio Mixer or a Render Texture. More info
See in Glossary are downloaded and imported from the Asset server. After the function has finished execution, Unity automatically quits.
/Applications/Unity/Unity.app/Contents/MacOS/Unity -batchmode -projectPath ~/UnityProjects/AutobuildProject -assetServerUpdate 192.168.1.1 MyGame AutobuildUser l33tpa33 -executeMethod MyEditorScript.PerformBuild -quit
You should only use these under special circumstances, or when directed by Unity Support.
| Command | Details |
|---|---|
| -enableIncompatibleAssetDowngrade | Use this when you have Assets made by a newer, incompatible version of Unity, that you want to downgrade to work with your current version of Unity. When enabled, Unity presents you with a dialog asking for confirmation of this downgrade if you attempt to open a project that would require it. Note: This procedure is unsupported and highly risky, and should only be used as a last resort. |
Standalone players built with Unity also understand some command line arguments:
| Command | Details |
|---|---|
| -adapter N (Windows only) | Allows the game to run full-screen on another display. The N maps to a Direct3D display adaptor. In most cases there is a one-to-one relationship between adapters and video cards. On cards that support multi-head (that is, they can drive multiple monitors from a single card) each “head” may be its own adapter. |
| -batchmode | Run the game in “headless” mode. The game does not display anything or accept user input. This is mostly useful for running servers for networked games. |
| -force-d3d11 (Windows only) | Force the game to use Direct3D 11 for rendering. |
| -force-d3d11-no-singlethreaded | Force DirectX 11.0 to be created without a D3D11_CREATE_DEVICE_SINGLETHREADED flag. |
| -force-device-index | Make the Standalone Player use a particular GPU device by passing it the index of that GPU (macOS only). |
| -force-gfx-metal | Make the Standalone Player use Metal as the default graphics API (macOS only). |
| -force-glcore | Force the Editor to use OpenGL coreThe back-end Unity uses to support the latest OpenGL features on Windows, MacOS X and Linux. More info See in Glossary profile for rendering. The Editor tries to use the best OpenGL version available, and all OpenGL extensions exposed by the OpenGL drivers. If the platform isn’t supported, Direct3D is used. |
| -force-glcoreXY | Similar to -force-glcore, but requests a specific OpenGL context version. Accepted values for XY: 32, 33, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44 or 45. |
| -force-clamped | Used together with -force-glcoreXY, this prevents checking for additional OpenGL extensions, allowing it to run between platforms with the same code paths. |
| -force-low-power-device | Make the Standalone Player use a low power device (macOS only). |
| -force-wayland | Activate experimental Wayland support when running a Linux player. |
| -nographics | When running in batch mode, do not initialize graphics device at all. This makes it possible to run your automated workflows on machines that don’t even have a GPU. |
| -nolog (Linux & Windows only) | Do not produce an output log. Normally output_log.txt is written in the *_Data folder next to the game executable, where Debug.Log output is printed. |
| -popupwindow | Create the window as a a pop-up window, without a frame. |
| -screen-fullscreen | Override the default full-screen state. This must be 0 or 1. |
| -screen-height | Override the default screen height. This must be an integer from a supported resolution. |
| -screen-width | Override the default screen width. This must be an integer from a supported resolution. |
| -screen-quality | Override the default screen quality. Example usage would be: /path/to/myGame -screen-quality Beautiful
|
| -show-screen-selector | Forces the screen selector dialog to be shown. |
| -single-instance (Linux & Windows only) | Allow only one instance of the game to run at the time. If another instance is already running then launching it again with -single-instance focuses the existing one. |
| -parentHWND <HWND> delayed (Windows only) | Embed the Windows Standalone application into another application. When using this, you need to pass the parent application’s window handle (‘HWND’) to the Windows Standalone application. When passing -parentHWND 'HWND' delayed, the Unity application is hidden while it is running. You must also call SetParent from the Microsoft Developer library for Unity in the application. Microsoft’s SetParent embeds the Unity window. When it creates Unity processes, the Unity window respects the position and size provided as part of the Microsoft’s STARTUPINFO structure. To resize the Unity window, check its GWLP_USERDATA in Microsoft’s GetWindowLongPtr function. Its lowest bit is set to 1 when graphics have been initialized and it’s safe to resize. Its second lowest bit is set to 1 after the Unity splash screen has finished displaying.For more information, see this example: EmbeddedWindow.zip |
Universal Windows Apps don’t accept command line arguments by default, so to pass them you need to call a special function from MainPage.xaml.cs/cpp or MainPage.cs/cpp. For example:
appCallbacks.AddCommandLineArg("-nolog");
You should call this before the appCallbacks.Initialize() function.
| Command | Details |
|---|---|
| -nolog | Don’t produce UnityPlayer.log. |
| -force-driver-type-warp | Force the DirectX 11.0 driver type WARP device (see Microsoft’s documentation on Windows Advanced Rasterization Platform for more information). |
| -force-d3d11-no-singlethreaded | Force DirectX 11.0 to be created without a D3D11_CREATE_DEVICE_SINGLETHREADED flag. |
| -force-gfx-direct | Force single threaded rendering. |
| -force-feature-level–9–3 | Force DirectX 11.0 feature level 9.3. |
| -force-feature-level–10–0 | Force DirectX 11.0 feature level 10.0. |
| -force-feature-level–10–1 | Force DirectX 11.0 feature level 10.1. |
| -force-feature-level–11–0 | Force DirectX 11.0 feature level 11.0. |
2018–09–07 Page amended with limited editorial review
“accept-apiupdate” command line option added in Unity 2017.2 NewIn20172
“-force-clamped” command line argument added in Unity 2017.3 NewIn20172
Tizen support discontinued in 2017.3 NewIn20173
“noUpm”, “setDefaultPlatformTextureFormat” and “CacheServerIPAddress” command line options added in Unity 2018.1 NewIn20181
“Application.isBatchMode” operator added in 2018.2 NewIn20182