install-unity
A command-line utility to install any recent version of Unity.
Currently only supports macOS (Intel & Apple Silicon) but support for Windows/Linux is possible, PRs welcome.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Download the latest release here. install-unity is a self-contained executable and has no dependencies.
Or you can install via Homebrew using sttz/homebrew-tap, see the tap readme for instructions.
Installing the latest release version of Unity is as simple as:
install-unity install f
Versions
Most commands take a version as input, either to select the version to install or to filter the output.
You can be as specific as you like, 2018.2.2f1, 2018.2.2, 2018.2, 2018, f or 2018.3b are all valid version inputs.
install-unity will scan for the available regular releases as well as the latest betas and alphas.
install-unity list
install-unity list a
install-unity list 2019.1
Will show the available versions and the argument acts as a filter. Without an argument, only regular releases are loaded and displayed. Add an argument including b or a to load and display either beta or both beta and alpha versions as well.
In case install-unity fails to discover a release, it's also possible to pass a release notes or unity hub url instead of a version to details and install:
install-unity details https://unity3d.com/unity/whats-new/unity-2018.3.0
install-unity install unityhub://2018.3.0f2/6e9a27477296
Packages
The command above will install the default packages as specified by Unity.
install-unity details 2018.2
Will show the available packages for a given version. You can then select the packages you want to install with the -p or --packages option. The option can either be repeated or the names separated by space or comma:
install-unity install 2018.2 --packages Unity,Documentation
install-unity install f -p Unity Linux iOS Android
install-unity install 2018.3b -p Unity -p Android -p Linux
Apple Silicon
By default, install-unity will download and install the Unity editor matching the current platform.
Use --platform macOSIntel to download and install the Intel editor on Apple Silicon.
Use --platform macOSArm on Intel to download the Apple Silicon editor.
Offline Install
install-unity can be used in a two-step process, first downloading the packages and then later installing them without needing an internet connection.
install-unity install 2018.2 --packages all --data-path "~/Desktop/2018.2" --download
Will download all available packages to ~/Desktop/Downloads together with the necessary package metadata.
install-unity install 2018.2 --pacakages all --data-path "~/Destop/2018.2" --install
Will install those packages at a later time. Simply copy the folder together with the install-unity binary to another computer to do an offline installation there.
You can download and install only a subset of the available packages.
Run
To select a Unity version from all the installed ones, use the run command.
install-unity run f
Will open the latest version of Unity installed.
You can also use the path to a Unity project and install-unity will open it with the corresponding Unity version.
install-unity run ~/Desktop/my-project
It will only open with the exact version of Unity the project is set to. You can optionally allow it to be opened with a newer patch, minor or any version:
install-unity run --allow-newer patch ~/Desktop/my-project
You can pass command line arguments along to Unity, e.g. to create a build from the command line (note the -- to separate install-unity options from the ones passed on the Unity).
install-unity run ~/Desktop/my-project -- -quit -batchmode -buildOSX64Player ~/Desktop/my-build
By default, Unity is started as a separate process and install-unity will exit after Unity has been launched. To wait for Unity to quit and forward Unity's log output through install-unity, use the --child option:
install-unity run ~/Desktop/my-project --child -v -- -quit -batchmode -buildOSX64Player ~/Desktop/my-build
Create
To start a basic Unity project, use the create command. The version pattern will select an installed Unity version and create a new project using it.
install-unity create 2020.1 ~/Desktop/my-project
The project will use Unity's default setup, including packages. Alternatively, you can create a minimal project that will start with an empty ยดPackages/manifest.json`:
install-unity create --type minimal 2020.1 ~/Desktop/my-project
CLI Help
install-unity v2.12.0
USAGE: install-unity [--help] [--version] [--verbose...] [--yes] [--update]
[--clear-cache] [--data-path <path>]
[--opt <name>=<value>...] <action>
GLOBAL OPTIONS:
-h, --help Show this help
--version Print the version of this program
-v, --verbose Increase verbosity of output, can be repeated
-y, --yes Don't prompt for confirmation (use with care)
-u, --update Force an update of the versions cache
--clear-cache Clear the versions cache before running any commands
--data-path <path> Store all data at the given path, also don't delete
packages after install
--opt <name>=<value> Set additional options. Use '--opt list' to show all
options and their default value and '--opt save' to create an
editable JSON config file.
ACTIONS:
---- INSTALL (default):
Download and install a version of Unity
USAGE: install-unity [options] [install] [--packages <name,name>...]
[--download] [--install] [--upgrade]
[--platform none|mac_os|linux|windows|all]
[--arch none|x86_64|arm64|all] [--redownload] [--yolo]
[<version>]
OPTIONS:
<version> Pattern to match Unity version or release notes / unity hub
url
-p, --packages <name,name> Select packages to download and install ('all'
selects all available, '~NAME' matches substrings)
--download Only download the packages (requires '--data-path')
--install Install previously downloaded packages (requires
'--data-path')
--upgrade Replace existing matching Unity installation after successful
install
--platform none|mac_os|linux|windows|all Platform to download the
packages for (only valid with '--download', default = current
platform)
--arch none|x86_64|arm64|all Architecture to download the packages for
(default = current architecture)
--redownload Force redownloading all files
--yolo Skip size and hash checks of downloaded files
---- LIST:
Get an overview of available or installed Unity versions
USAGE: install-unity [options] list [--installed]
[--platform none|mac_os|linux|windows|all]
[--arch none|x86_64|arm64|all] [<version>]
OPTIONS:
<version> Pattern to match Unity version
-i, --installed List installed versions of Unity
--platform none|mac_os|linux|windows|all Platform to list the versions
for (default = current platform)
--arch none|x86_64|arm64|all Architecture to list the versions for
(default = current architecture)
---- DETAILS:
Show version information and all its available packages
USAGE: install-unity [options] details
[--platform none|mac_os|linux|windows|all]
[--arch none|x86_64|arm64|all] [<version>]
OPTIONS:
<version> Pattern to match Unity version or release notes / unity hub
url
--platform none|mac_os|linux|windows|all Platform to show the details for
(default = current platform)
--arch none|x86_64|arm64|all Architecture to show the details for
(default = current architecture)
---- UNINSTALL:
Remove a previously installed version of Unity
USAGE: install-unity [options] uninstall [<version-or-path>]
OPTIONS:
<version-or-path> Pattern to match Unity version or path to installation root
---- RUN:
Execute a version of Unity or a Unity project, matching it to its Unity
version
USAGE: install-unity [options] run [--child]
[--allow-newer none|hash|build|patch|minor|all]
[--upgrade <version>] <version-or-path>
[<unity-arguments>...]
OPTIONS:
<version-or-path> Pattern to match Unity version or path to a Unity project
<unity-arguments> Arguments to launch Unity with (put a -- first to avoid
Unity options being parsed as install-unity options)
-c, --child Run Unity as a child process and forward its log output (only
errors, use -v to see the full log)
-a, --allow-newer none|hash|build|patch|minor|all Allow newer versions of
Unity to open a project
--upgrade <version> Run the project with the highest installed Unity
version matching the pattern
---- CREATE:
Create a new empty Unity project
USAGE: install-unity [options] create [--type <basic|minimal>] [--open]
<version> <path>
OPTIONS:
<version> Pattern to match the Unity version to create the project with
<path> Path to the new Unity project
--type <basic|minimal> Type of project to create (basic = standard
project, minimal = no packages/modules)
-o, --open Open the new project in the editor
Legacy
The old Python version of install-unity can be found in the legacy branch.