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Unity Engine

FindAssets

Search the asset database using the search filter string.
Read time 10 minutesLast updated 5 days ago

Definition

  • Type: Method
  • Namespace: UnityEditor
  • Assembly: UnityEditor

FindAssets(string)

Search the asset database using the search filter string.
public static string[] FindAssets(string filter)

Parameters

filter

string
The filter string can contain search data. See below for details about this string.

Returns

Type

Description

string[]An array containing the GUIDs of any matching assets in string format. If no matching assets were found, returns empty array.

Remarks

FindAssets allows you to search for Assets. The 
string
argument can provide names, labels or types (classnames). The filter string can include:
Name: Filter assets by their filename (without extension). Words separated by a space are treated as separate name searches. For example, 
"test asset"
, is for two name searches, one looking for a match with 
test
and the other with 
asset
. You can also perform partial searches. For example, you can match 
MyAwesomeTexture
by searching for 
awesome
.
Labels (l:): Assets can have labels attached to them. Use the keyword 
'l:'
before each label to search for assets by their labels.
Types (t:): Use the keyword 
't:'
to find assets by their type. If more than one type is included in the filter 
string
then assets that match one class will be returned. Types can either be built-in types such as 
Texture2D
or user created script classes. User created classes are assets created from a ScriptableObject class in the project. If all assets are wanted use 
Object
as the type because all assets derive from Object. Specifying one or more folders using the 
searchInFolders
argument limits the searching to these folders and their child folders. This is faster than searching all assets in all folders.
AssetBundles (b:): Use the keyword 
'b:'
to find assets which are part of an AssetBundle.
Area (a:) : Find assets in a specific area of a project. Valid values are 
"all"
, 
"assets"
and 
"packages"
. Use this to make your query more specific using the 
'a:'
keyword followed by the area name to speed up searching.
Globbing (glob:): Use globbing to match specific rules. The keyword 
glob:
is followed by the query. For example, 
glob:Editor
will find all Editor folders in a project, 
glob:(Editor|Resources)
will find all Editor and Resources folders in a project, 
glob:Editor/*
will return all Assets inside Editor folders in a project, while 
glob:Editor/**
will return all Assets within Editor folders recursively.
Note:
Searching is case insensitive.
Use AssetDatabase.GUIDToAssetPath to get asset paths and AssetDatabase.LoadAssetAtPath to load an asset.
using UnityEngine;using UnityEditor;public class Example{    [MenuItem("Example/FindAssets Example")]    static void ExampleScript()    {        // Find all assets labelled with 'architecture' :        string[] guids1 = AssetDatabase.FindAssets("l:architecture", null);        foreach (string guid1 in guids1)        {            Debug.Log(AssetDatabase.GUIDToAssetPath(guid1));        }        // Find all Texture2Ds that have 'co' in their filename, that are labelled with 'architecture' and are placed in 'MyAwesomeProps' folder        string[] guids2 = AssetDatabase.FindAssets("co l:architecture t:texture2D", new[] {"Assets/MyAwesomeProps"});        foreach (string guid2 in guids2)        {            Debug.Log(AssetDatabase.GUIDToAssetPath(guid2));        }    }}
The following script example shows how the Names, Labels and Types details added to Assets can be located. The AssetDatabase.FindAssets function is demonstrated. The assets created in this example use the 
ScriptObj
class.
// This script file has two CS classes.  The first is a simple Unity ScriptableObject script.// The class it defines is used by the Example class below.// (This is a single Unity script file. You could split this file into a ScriptObj.cs and an// Example.cs file which is more structured.)using UnityEngine;using UnityEditor;using System.IO;public class ScriptObj : ScriptableObject{    public void Awake()    {        Debug.Log("ScriptObj created");    }}// Use ScriptObj to show how AssetDabase.FindAssets can be usedpublic class Example{    static ScriptObj testI;    static ScriptObj testJ;    static ScriptObj testK;    [MenuItem("Examples/FindAssets Example two")]    static void ExampleScript()    {        CreateAssets();        NamesExample();        LabelsExample();        TypesExample();    }    static void CreateAssets()    {        if (!Directory.Exists("Assets/AssetFolder"))        {            AssetDatabase.CreateFolder("Assets", "AssetFolder");        }        if (!Directory.Exists("Assets/AssetFolder/SpecialFolder"))        {            AssetDatabase.CreateFolder("Assets/AssetFolder", "SpecialFolder");        }        testI = (ScriptObj)ScriptableObject.CreateInstance(typeof(ScriptObj));        AssetDatabase.CreateAsset(testI, "Assets/AssetFolder/testI.asset");        testJ = (ScriptObj)ScriptableObject.CreateInstance(typeof(ScriptObj));        AssetDatabase.CreateAsset(testJ, "Assets/AssetFolder/testJ.asset");        // create an asset in a sub-folder and with a name which contains a space        testK = (ScriptObj)ScriptableObject.CreateInstance(typeof(ScriptObj));        AssetDatabase.CreateAsset(testK, "Assets/AssetFolder/SpecialFolder/testK example.asset");        // an asset with a material will be used later        Material material = new Material(Shader.Find("Standard"));        AssetDatabase.CreateAsset(material, "Assets/AssetFolder/SpecialFolder/MyMaterial.mat");    }    static void NamesExample()    {        Debug.Log("*** FINDING ASSETS BY NAME ***");        string[] results;        results = AssetDatabase.FindAssets("testI");        foreach (string guid in results)        {            Debug.Log("testI: " + AssetDatabase.GUIDToAssetPath(guid));        }        results = AssetDatabase.FindAssets("testJ");        foreach (string guid in results)        {            Debug.Log("testJ: " + AssetDatabase.GUIDToAssetPath(guid));        }        results = AssetDatabase.FindAssets("testK example");        foreach (string guid in results)        {            Debug.Log("testK example: " + AssetDatabase.GUIDToAssetPath(guid));        }        Debug.Log("*** More complex asset search ***");        // find all assets that contain test (which is all assets)        results = AssetDatabase.FindAssets("test");        foreach (string guid in results)        {            Debug.Log("name:test - " + AssetDatabase.GUIDToAssetPath(guid));        }    }    static void LabelsExample()    {        Debug.Log("*** FINDING ASSETS BY LABELS ***");        string[] setLabels;        setLabels = new string[] { "wrapper" };        AssetDatabase.SetLabels(testI, setLabels);        setLabels = new string[] { "bottle", "banana", "carrot" };        AssetDatabase.SetLabels(testJ, setLabels);        setLabels = new string[] { "swappable", "helmet" };        AssetDatabase.SetLabels(testK, setLabels);        // label searching:        //   testI has wrapper, testK has swappable, so both have 'app'        //   testJ has bottle, so have a label searched as 'bot'        string[] getGuids = AssetDatabase.FindAssets("l:app l:bot");        foreach (string guid in getGuids)        {            Debug.Log("label lookup: " + AssetDatabase.GUIDToAssetPath(guid));        }    }    static void TypesExample()    {        Debug.Log("*** FINDING ASSETS BY TYPE ***");        string[] guids;        guids = AssetDatabase.FindAssets("t:material");        foreach (string guid in guids)        {            Debug.Log("Material: " + AssetDatabase.GUIDToAssetPath(guid));        }        guids = AssetDatabase.FindAssets("t:Object l:helmet");        foreach (string guid in guids)        {            Debug.Log("ScriptObj+helmet: " + AssetDatabase.GUIDToAssetPath(guid));        }    }}

FindAssets(string, string[])

Search the asset database using the search filter string.
public static string[] FindAssets(string filter, string[] searchInFolders)

Parameters

filter

string
The filter string can contain search data. See below for details about this string.

searchInFolders

string[]
The folders to perform the search in. Unity searches within this folder and any child folders. If unspecified, Unity searches in the 
Assets
and 
Packages
folders of your project.

Returns

Type

Description

string[]An array containing the GUIDs of any matching assets in string format. If no matching assets were found, returns empty array.

Remarks

FindAssets allows you to search for Assets. The 
string
argument can provide names, labels or types (classnames). The filter string can include:
Name: Filter assets by their filename (without extension). Words separated by a space are treated as separate name searches. For example, 
"test asset"
, is for two name searches, one looking for a match with 
test
and the other with 
asset
. You can also perform partial searches. For example, you can match 
MyAwesomeTexture
by searching for 
awesome
.
Labels (l:): Assets can have labels attached to them. Use the keyword 
'l:'
before each label to search for assets by their labels.
Types (t:): Use the keyword 
't:'
to find assets by their type. If more than one type is included in the filter 
string
then assets that match one class will be returned. Types can either be built-in types such as 
Texture2D
or user created script classes. User created classes are assets created from a ScriptableObject class in the project. If all assets are wanted use 
Object
as the type because all assets derive from Object. Specifying one or more folders using the 
searchInFolders
argument limits the searching to these folders and their child folders. This is faster than searching all assets in all folders.
AssetBundles (b:): Use the keyword 
'b:'
to find assets which are part of an AssetBundle.
Area (a:) : Find assets in a specific area of a project. Valid values are 
"all"
, 
"assets"
and 
"packages"
. Use this to make your query more specific using the 
'a:'
keyword followed by the area name to speed up searching.
Globbing (glob:): Use globbing to match specific rules. The keyword 
glob:
is followed by the query. For example, 
glob:Editor
will find all Editor folders in a project, 
glob:(Editor|Resources)
will find all Editor and Resources folders in a project, 
glob:Editor/*
will return all Assets inside Editor folders in a project, while 
glob:Editor/**
will return all Assets within Editor folders recursively.
Note:
Searching is case insensitive.
Use AssetDatabase.GUIDToAssetPath to get asset paths and AssetDatabase.LoadAssetAtPath to load an asset.
using UnityEngine;using UnityEditor;public class Example{    [MenuItem("Example/FindAssets Example")]    static void ExampleScript()    {        // Find all assets labelled with 'architecture' :        string[] guids1 = AssetDatabase.FindAssets("l:architecture", null);        foreach (string guid1 in guids1)        {            Debug.Log(AssetDatabase.GUIDToAssetPath(guid1));        }        // Find all Texture2Ds that have 'co' in their filename, that are labelled with 'architecture' and are placed in 'MyAwesomeProps' folder        string[] guids2 = AssetDatabase.FindAssets("co l:architecture t:texture2D", new[] {"Assets/MyAwesomeProps"});        foreach (string guid2 in guids2)        {            Debug.Log(AssetDatabase.GUIDToAssetPath(guid2));        }    }}
The following script example shows how the Names, Labels and Types details added to Assets can be located. The AssetDatabase.FindAssets function is demonstrated. The assets created in this example use the 
ScriptObj
class.
// This script file has two CS classes.  The first is a simple Unity ScriptableObject script.// The class it defines is used by the Example class below.// (This is a single Unity script file. You could split this file into a ScriptObj.cs and an// Example.cs file which is more structured.)using UnityEngine;using UnityEditor;using System.IO;public class ScriptObj : ScriptableObject{    public void Awake()    {        Debug.Log("ScriptObj created");    }}// Use ScriptObj to show how AssetDabase.FindAssets can be usedpublic class Example{    static ScriptObj testI;    static ScriptObj testJ;    static ScriptObj testK;    [MenuItem("Examples/FindAssets Example two")]    static void ExampleScript()    {        CreateAssets();        NamesExample();        LabelsExample();        TypesExample();    }    static void CreateAssets()    {        if (!Directory.Exists("Assets/AssetFolder"))        {            AssetDatabase.CreateFolder("Assets", "AssetFolder");        }        if (!Directory.Exists("Assets/AssetFolder/SpecialFolder"))        {            AssetDatabase.CreateFolder("Assets/AssetFolder", "SpecialFolder");        }        testI = (ScriptObj)ScriptableObject.CreateInstance(typeof(ScriptObj));        AssetDatabase.CreateAsset(testI, "Assets/AssetFolder/testI.asset");        testJ = (ScriptObj)ScriptableObject.CreateInstance(typeof(ScriptObj));        AssetDatabase.CreateAsset(testJ, "Assets/AssetFolder/testJ.asset");        // create an asset in a sub-folder and with a name which contains a space        testK = (ScriptObj)ScriptableObject.CreateInstance(typeof(ScriptObj));        AssetDatabase.CreateAsset(testK, "Assets/AssetFolder/SpecialFolder/testK example.asset");        // an asset with a material will be used later        Material material = new Material(Shader.Find("Standard"));        AssetDatabase.CreateAsset(material, "Assets/AssetFolder/SpecialFolder/MyMaterial.mat");    }    static void NamesExample()    {        Debug.Log("*** FINDING ASSETS BY NAME ***");        string[] results;        results = AssetDatabase.FindAssets("testI");        foreach (string guid in results)        {            Debug.Log("testI: " + AssetDatabase.GUIDToAssetPath(guid));        }        results = AssetDatabase.FindAssets("testJ");        foreach (string guid in results)        {            Debug.Log("testJ: " + AssetDatabase.GUIDToAssetPath(guid));        }        results = AssetDatabase.FindAssets("testK example");        foreach (string guid in results)        {            Debug.Log("testK example: " + AssetDatabase.GUIDToAssetPath(guid));        }        Debug.Log("*** More complex asset search ***");        // find all assets that contain test (which is all assets)        results = AssetDatabase.FindAssets("test");        foreach (string guid in results)        {            Debug.Log("name:test - " + AssetDatabase.GUIDToAssetPath(guid));        }    }    static void LabelsExample()    {        Debug.Log("*** FINDING ASSETS BY LABELS ***");        string[] setLabels;        setLabels = new string[] { "wrapper" };        AssetDatabase.SetLabels(testI, setLabels);        setLabels = new string[] { "bottle", "banana", "carrot" };        AssetDatabase.SetLabels(testJ, setLabels);        setLabels = new string[] { "swappable", "helmet" };        AssetDatabase.SetLabels(testK, setLabels);        // label searching:        //   testI has wrapper, testK has swappable, so both have 'app'        //   testJ has bottle, so have a label searched as 'bot'        string[] getGuids = AssetDatabase.FindAssets("l:app l:bot");        foreach (string guid in getGuids)        {            Debug.Log("label lookup: " + AssetDatabase.GUIDToAssetPath(guid));        }    }    static void TypesExample()    {        Debug.Log("*** FINDING ASSETS BY TYPE ***");        string[] guids;        guids = AssetDatabase.FindAssets("t:material");        foreach (string guid in guids)        {            Debug.Log("Material: " + AssetDatabase.GUIDToAssetPath(guid));        }        guids = AssetDatabase.FindAssets("t:Object l:helmet");        foreach (string guid in guids)        {            Debug.Log("ScriptObj+helmet: " + AssetDatabase.GUIDToAssetPath(guid));        }    }}