# Asset Pipeline preferences reference

> Reference for Asset Pipeline preferences.

Use the Asset Pipeline preferences to control how Unity imports assets and uses the Accelerator cache server. To open the preferences, go to **Edit > Preferences > Asset Pipeline** (macOS: **Unity > Settings > Asset Pipeline**).

The Asset Pipeline preferences contain the following settings:

| **Property**                            | **Description**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
| --------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Auto Refresh**                        | Define when Unity automatically imports assets. Choose from the following:**Disabled**: Turns off automatic refreshing.**Enabled**: Imports assets automatically as they change.**Enabled Outside Playmode**: Imports assets automatically as they change, but not while the Editor is in Play mode.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             |
| **Import Worker Count %**               | Set a percentage of available logical CPU cores to use for the [**Desired Import Worker Count**](/engine/6000.3/manual/unity-editor/editor-settings-reference/comp-manager-group/class-editor-manager.md#asset-pipeline) setting. For example, if your system has 16 logical cores and you set this preference to 25%, Unity sets the **Desired Import Worker Count** for new projects to 4. If you set this value too high, the import worker processes compete with other processes for system resources. The default value of 25% avoids assigning every logical core to imports so that the Editor stays responsive. For more information, refer to [Import assets simultaneously](/engine/6000.3/manual/assets-and-media/import-assets/parallel-import.md). |
| **Directory Monitoring (Windows only)** | Monitors directories instead of scanning all project files to detect asset changes.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |
| **Compress Textures on Import**         | Compresses textures during [import](/engine/6000.3/manual/materials-and-shaders/textures/importing-textures.md). When turned off, Unity imports textures in uncompressed formats, and compresses textures at build time.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |
| **Verify Saving Assets**                | Displays a dialog when Unity attempts to save assets, which you can use to confirm the individual assets to save.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                |
| **Show Enter Safe Mode Dialog**         | Displays a confirmation dialog before the Editor enters [safe mode](/engine/6000.3/manual/programming-environment/script-compilation/safe-mode.md) because of script compilation errors. If you turn this setting off, the Editor automatically enters safe mode when it opens a project with compilation errors.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                |

## Unity Accelerator (Cache Server)

The **Unity Accelerator (Cache Server)** section contains the following settings for [Unity Accelerator](/engine/6000.3/manual/assets-and-media/importing-caching-assets/unity-accelerator.md):

| **Property**           | **Description**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
| ---------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Default Mode**       | Define the default setting for Unity Accelerator (enabled or disabled). You can override this per project in the Unity Editor settings. For more information, refer to [Unity Accelerator](/engine/6000.3/manual/assets-and-media/importing-caching-assets/unity-accelerator.md). |
| **Default IP address** | Set the default IP address for Unity Accelerator to use. You can override this per project in the Unity Editor settings.                                                                                                                                                          |
| **Check Connection**   | Select **Check Connection** to attempt to connect to the remote cache server.                                                                                                                                                                                                     |

## Additional resources

* [Project Settings reference](/engine/6000.3/manual/unity-editor/editor-settings-reference/comp-manager-group.md)
* [Introduction to importing assets](/engine/6000.3/manual/assets-and-media/import-assets/importing-assets.md)
* [Introduction to Unity Accelerator](/engine/6000.3/manual/assets-and-media/importing-caching-assets/unity-accelerator.md)