# Manage GameObjects in the Hierarchy window

> Use the Hierarchy window to organize the GameObjects in your scenes and manage their parent-child relationships.

Use the **Hierarchy** window to arrange the GameObjects in your scenes, group them into parent-child hierarchies, and control their visibility in the Editor view.

Unity uses the concept of parent-child hierarchies, or parenting, to group GameObjects. Group GameObjects under a parent to keep the **Hierarchy** window organized and to move, rotate, and scale the whole group of GameObjects together. To learn more, refer to [Parent-child relationships in the Hierarchy window](/engine/6000.7/manual/unity-editor/editor-windows-views-reference/hierarchy-window/hierarchy-parent-child.md).

## Reorder GameObjects in the Hierarchy window

By default, the **Hierarchy** window lists GameObjects by order of creation, with the most recently created GameObjects at the bottom. You can reorder the GameObjects by dragging them up or down.

## Use an existing GameObject as a parent

To make an existing GameObject the parent of another GameObject, drag the child onto the parent GameObject in the **Hierarchy** window.

To ungroup GameObjects, select the child GameObject and drag it to a different position in the **Hierarchy** window.

You can also [paste a GameObject as a child](#paste-a-gameobject-as-a-child) of another GameObject.

## Create an empty parent GameObject

Create a new GameObject in the **Hierarchy** window as the parent of existing GameObjects. An empty parent GameObject acts as a container for related GameObjects.

To create an empty parent GameObject:

1. In the **Hierarchy** window, do one of the following:

   * To create an empty parent for a single GameObject, right-click the GameObject to open the context menu.
   * To create an empty parent for multiple GameObjects, select the GameObjects on the same level, then right-click to open the context menu.

2. Select **Create Empty Parent**.

> **Tip:**
>
> Press **Ctrl**+**Shift**+**G** (macOS: **Cmd**+**Shift**+**G**) to create an empty parent GameObject for the selected GameObject.

## Paste a GameObject as a child

You can cut or copy a GameObject and paste it as a child of another GameObject.

To paste a GameObject as a child:

1. In the **Hierarchy** window, right-click the GameObject, then select **Cut** or **Copy**.

2. Right-click the intended parent GameObject, then do one of the following:

   * Select **Paste Special** > **Paste as Child (Keep Local Transform)** to paste the GameObject as a child, but keep its local position, rotation, and scale relative to the parent. The GameObject might move in the scene, because it now inherits the parent's transform.
   * Select **Paste Special** > **Paste as Child (Keep World Transform)** to paste the GameObject as a child, but keep its world position, rotation, and scale. Unity adjusts the local position, rotation, and scale relative to the parent so the GameObject stays in place in the scene.

> **Tip:**
>
> You can also press **Ctrl**+**Shift**+**V** (macOS: **Cmd**+**Shift**+**V**) to paste a GameObject as a child with its local transform.

## Organize GameObjects as siblings

Child GameObjects that share the same parent are siblings.

To organize siblings under their parent, do one of the following:

* Drag them in the **Hierarchy** window.

* Right-click a GameObject in the **Hierarchy** window to open its context menu, then either:

  * Select **Set as first sibling** to move the GameObject to the top of its parent's list of siblings.
  * Select **Set as last sibling** to move it to the bottom of the list.

  These options aren't available for GameObjects that don't have a parent.

## Set a default parent for new GameObjects

You can make any GameObject in the **Hierarchy** window the default parent of new GameObjects. When you create or drag a GameObject into the **Scene** view, it becomes a child of the default parent GameObject. The name of the default parent GameObject appears in bold in the **Hierarchy** window.

You can only set one default parent in each scene. If you set a GameObject as the default parent, and then you make a different GameObject in the same scene the default parent, only the second GameObject is the default parent.

If you have multiple [scenes](/engine/6000.7/manual/working-with-scenes/multi-scene-editing.md) in the **Hierarchy** window and you set a default parent for each scene, when you drag a GameObject into the **Scene** view, Unity makes the default parent GameObject in the active scene the parent of the new GameObject.

To set a default parent GameObject:

1. In the **Hierarchy** window, right-click the GameObject you want to set as the default parent.
2. From the context menu, select **Set as Default Parent**.

> **Tip:**
>
> You can set a keyboard shortcut for the default parent setting in the [Shortcuts Manager](/engine/6000.7/manual/unity-editor/editor-navigating-managing/shortcuts-manager.md). Assign a keyboard shortcut to **Hierarchy View** > **Set as Default Parent**. The shortcut sets a selected GameObject as the default parent, or removes default parent status from an existing default parent.

## Remove a default parent

When you remove default parent status from a GameObject, its name is no longer in bold. If you don't set a new default parent, when you drag a GameObject into the **Scene** view, it appears at the top level in the **Hierarchy** window.

To remove default parent status from a GameObject:

1. In the **Hierarchy** window, right-click the default parent GameObject. The default parent GameObject is the one whose name is in bold.
2. From the context menu, select **Clear Default Parent**.

## Expand or collapse nested GameObjects

In the **Hierarchy** window, you can expand or collapse the GameObjects nested under a parent GameObject to make large collections easier to navigate.

* To expand a parent, select the foldout arrow (►) to its left.
* To expand both the parent and any child that contains its own children, hold **Alt** (macOS: **Option**) and select the foldout arrow (►).
* To collapse all descendant GameObjects, select the down-facing foldout arrow (▼).

## Set Scene visibility and pickability

If you have a scene with many GameObjects, it can be difficult to find and select specific GameObjects in the [**Scene** view](/engine/6000.7/manual/unity-editor/editor-windows-views-reference/using-the-scene-view.md). To clear the **Scene** view without affecting the visibility or behavior of GameObjects at runtime, you can toggle the visibility and pickability of GameObjects from the **Hierarchy** window:

* To hide and show the GameObject, select **Scene visibility** (eye icon).
* To toggle the GameObject's pickability, select **Scene picking** (hand icon).

> **Note:**
>
> If you select multiple GameObjects, press **H** to hide and show them, and **L** to toggle their pickability.

For more information, refer to [Scene visibility](/engine/6000.7/manual/working-with-scenes/scenes-manage-gameobjects/scene-visibility.md) and [Scene picking](/engine/6000.7/manual/working-with-scenes/scenes-manage-gameobjects/scene-picking.md).

## Additional resources

* [Parent-child relationships in the Hierarchy window](/engine/6000.7/manual/unity-editor/editor-windows-views-reference/hierarchy-window/hierarchy-parent-child.md)
* [Hierarchy window reference](/engine/6000.7/manual/unity-editor/editor-windows-views-reference/hierarchy-window/hierarchy-reference.md)
* [Edit prefab assets](/engine/6000.7/manual/working-with-gameobjects/prefabs/editing-in-prefab-mode.md)
* [GameObject class](/engine/6000.7/manual/working-with-gameobjects/gameobject-fundamentals/class-game-object.md)
* [Scene view](/engine/6000.7/manual/unity-editor/editor-windows-views-reference/using-the-scene-view.md)
* [Inspector window](/engine/6000.7/manual/unity-editor/editor-windows-views-reference/using-the-inspector.md)