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Unity CLI reference

Explore the Unity CLI commands, options, output formats, and exit codes you can use to install and manage Unity Editors and modules from a terminal.
Read time 8 minutesLast updated 3 days ago
Note
The Unity CLI is experimental. Full feature parity with the Unity Hub UI isn't guaranteed.
Find the commands and options available in the Unity CLI. For installation and common task instructions, refer to Use the Unity CLI. Run 
unity --help
to check the authoritative command list for your installed version, including any commands not yet covered on this page.

Commands

Command

Alias

Description

install
i
Install a Unity Editor version, optionally with modules.
install-modules
im
Add modules to an already-installed Editor.
uninstall
u
Remove an installed Editor.
editors
e
List available releases and installed Editors, add local installs, and set the default Editor.
install-path
ip
Show or change the path where the CLI installs Editors.
open
Open a Unity project, resolving the correct Editor version.
projects
p
Manage the list of Unity projects the Hub knows about.
auth
a
Sign in, check login state, or sign out.
language
lang
Show or change the CLI display language.
upgrade
Self-update the 
unity
CLI binary.
help
Display help for any command. Equivalent to 
--help
.

Help commands

Command

Description

unity --help
Top-level help, including the list of commands.
unity <command> --help
Help for a specific command and its options.
unity <command> <subcommand> --help
Help for a subcommand (for example, 
unity editors add --help
).
Tip
unity --help
is the authoritative source for flags in your installed version. This page covers the main commands. Your release might add flags or commands that appear only in 
--help
.

Update the CLI

Use the built-in self-update command to install the latest CLI release: 
unity upgrade

Install an Editor

Install a Unity Editor version, optionally with modules. 
unity install [version] [options]
The 
version
argument is positional and optional:
  • On an interactive terminal, omitting the version opens an interactive prompt.
  • On a non-interactive terminal (for example, a CI pipeline), omitting the version is an error.

Version aliases

Alias

Resolves to

latest
The newest available Editor release.
lts
The newest long-term support release.
default
The version configured as your default in the Unity CLI.
6
, 
6.5
, 
2022
, and similar		The newest release within that major or minor stream.

Install options

Refer to 
unity install --help
for the complete list.

Option

Usage

Description

-c, --changeset <hash>
-c 9b001d489a54
Changeset for the chosen Editor, required when the version isn't in the release list.
-m, --module <id>
-m android
or 
-m ios webgl
Module IDs to install alongside the Editor. Accepts multiple values.
--cm
, 
--childModules
--cm
Also install child modules of each selected module (for example, Android SDK & NDK under 
android
).
-a, --architecture <arch>
-a arm64
or 
-a x86_64
macOS only. Selects between Apple silicon and Intel builds.

Install examples

unity install 6000.3.7f1unity install ltsunity install 6000.3.7f1 -c 9b001d489a54unity install 6000.3.7f1 -m android --cmunity install lts -m ios android webgl
Note
For available module IDs, refer to Add modules to a Unity Editor installation and the module ID table.

Install modules for an existing Editor

Add one or more modules to an Editor you already installed with the Hub or the CLI. 
unity install-modules [options]
Important
You can only add modules to Editors that the Hub or CLI installed. Reinstall manually installed Editors through the Hub or CLI to add modules.

Install-modules options

Option

Required?

Description

-e, --editor-version <version>
NoEditor version to add the module to. If omitted on an interactive terminal, you receive a prompt.
-m, --module <id>
NoModule ID(s) to install. Accepts multiple values.
-l, --list
NoList installable modules for the target Editor instead of installing anything.
--all
NoInstall every available module for the target Editor.
--cm
, 
--childModules
NoAlso install child modules. Use 
--no-cm
(or 
--no-childModules
) to explicitly skip them.

Install-modules examples

unity install-modules -e 6000.3.7f1 -m ios androidunity install-modules -e 6000.3.7f1 -lunity install-modules -e 6000.3.7f1 --allunity install-modules -e 6000.3.7f1 -m android --no-cm

Uninstall an Editor

Remove an installed Editor version. 
unity uninstall <version>

uninstall examples

unity uninstall 6000.3.7f1

List and manage Editors

Inspect available releases and installed Editors, register locally installed Editors with the Hub, and set a default version. 
unity editors [options]unity editors add <path...>unity editors default [version]

Editor options

Option

Alias

Description

--releases
-r
Show available releases.
--installed
-i
Show Editors installed on this machine.
--verbose
Include additional detail in the output.
--architecture <architecture>
-a
Set Editor architecture (x86_64 or arm64) the default setting is "unknown".
--json
N/AOutput the list in JSON format.
--watch 
-w
Watch for editor changes and refresh output (press Ctrl-C to stop).
--help
-h
Display help for this command.

Add an Editor

Register an Editor you installed outside the Hub so the Hub and CLI can manage it. Accepts one or more paths. 
unity editors add /Applications/Unity/Hub/Editor/6000.3.7f1/Unity.appunity editors add "C:\Program Files\Unity\6000.3.7f1" "C:\Program Files\Unity\2022.3.40f1"

Identify the default Editor

Print the current default Editor, or set a new default by passing a version: 
unity editors default               # show the defaultunity editors default 6000.3.7f1    # set the default

Editor command examples

unity editors -r       # list available releasesunity editors -i       # list installed Editorsunity editors -a       # combined list

Set or get the Editor install path

Show or change the directory where the CLI installs Unity Editors. 
unity install-path [options]
Alias: 
ip
. Run 
unity install-path --help
for the current option list, including flags to display or update the path.

Open a project

Open a Unity project, resolving the Editor version declared by the project. 
unity open <path>
You can omit the 
open
keyword when the first argument is a path: 
unity open ./MyProjectunity ./MyProject       # equivalent

Manage projects in the Hub registry

Manage the list of Unity projects the Hub knows about, so both the Hub UI and the CLI can find and open them. 
unity projects [subcommand] [options]
Alias: 
p
. Run 
unity projects --help
to check the available commands and options in your installed CLI version.

Sign in and out

The 
auth
command manages your Unity account session. 
unity auth loginunity auth statusunity auth logout

Command

Description

unity auth login
Opens a browser-based sign-in flow.
unity auth status
Prints the current signed-in user, if any.
unity auth logout
Signs out of the current session.

Change the CLI display language

Show the current CLI display language, or change it to a supported language. 
unity language [options]
Alias: 
lang
. Run 
unity language --help
for the list of supported languages and the exact option names.

Output formats and automation

The CLI chooses a default output format based on the context and supports explicit formats for automation.

Format selection

Format

Selected when

Notes

human
Output goes to an interactive terminal.Colorized, animated progress, aligned columns.
tsv
Output goes to a pipe or file.Tab-separated, one record per line. Machine-parseable.
json
You set 
--format json
(or 
--json
).		Structured output for use with 
jq
and other tools.
Select a format explicitly with the global flag: 
unity editors -i --format jsonunity editors -i --format tsv
Tip
When you pipe CLI output, the default format changes to tab-separated values (TSV). If a script expects human-readable text, set 
--format human
explicitly, or parse TSV or JSON instead.

Error output

The CLI writes errors and diagnostic messages to 
stderr
, leaving 
stdout
free for data output. In JSON mode, the CLI emits errors as 
{"error": "..."}
on 
stderr
. To capture both streams in a shell: 
unity install 6000.3.7f1 > install.log 2>&1

Exit codes

Code

Meaning

0
Success.
1
A general error occurred. Inspect 
stderr
for details.
130
User cancelled the command (for example with Ctrl+C or SIGINT).

Progress output

Long-running commands (such as 
install
) render animated progress bars on an interactive terminal and a static summary when complete. Progress output is for human readers. Don't parse it in scripts. For machine-readable results, use 
--format json
.

Log locations

Platform

Path

Windows
%UserProfile%\AppData\Roaming\UnityHub\logs
macOS
~/Library/Application Support/UnityHub/logs
Linux
~/.config/UnityHub/logs
You can also open the log folder from the Hub: Account > Help and Support > Logs.

Migrate from the Hub CLI

If you have scripts targeting the CLI embedded in the Unity Hub desktop application (invoked with 
-- --headless
), the following tables summarize the behavioral and syntactic differences. For full Hub CLI syntax, refer to Hub CLI reference.

Invocation

Hub CLI

Unity CLI

How to run
"Unity Hub.exe" -- --headless <command>
unity <command>
DependencyRequires the full Unity Hub desktop application.Standalone binary; no Hub installation required.

Command and flag changes

Area

Hub CLI

Unity CLI

install
version
--version
/ 
-v <version>
(required flag)
[version]
(optional positional argument)
install-modules
editor version
--version
/ 
-v <version>
(required)
-e, --editor-version <version>
(optional)
install-modules
module
--module
/ 
-m <id>
(required)
-m, --module <id>
(optional)
editors
add local Editor
editors --add <path>
(flag)
editors add <path...>
(command; accepts multiple paths)
-v
on 
install
Editor versionReserved. 
-V
prints the CLI version.
help
command		Platform-specific help text filesReplaced by 
--help
on every command.

Output and errors

Area

Hub CLI

Unity CLI

Default outputPlain text, always
human
on an interactive terminal; 
tsv
when piped
Structured output
--json
per command (where supported)		Global 
--format json
(
--json
kept for compatibility)
ErrorsWritten to 
stdout
Written to 
stderr
(JSON errors: 
{"error": "..."}
on 
stderr
)
ProgressPlain text lines, for example 
downloading 23.50%
Animated progress bar; static summary on completion
Exit codes
0
success, 
1
error
0
success, 
1
error, 
130
user cancellation

Removed global flags

These Hub CLI flags have no equivalent in the Unity CLI: 
--headless
, 
--errors
, 
--silent
, 
--logLevel
/ 
-l
, 
--bugReporter
, 
--debugMode
, 
--inspect
, 
--userEmail
, 
--theme
, 
--editorLicense
, 
--servicesUrlInterval
, 
--cloudEnvironment
.

New commands

The Unity CLI adds commands not in the Hub CLI: 
auth
, 
open
, 
projects
, 
uninstall
, and 
upgrade
. The path shorthand 
unity ./MyProject
is equivalent to 
unity open ./MyProject
.

Impact summary

Important
Review existing scripts and continuous integration (CI) pipelines before switching. The following items describe the areas most likely to require changes.

High: scripts that fail without updates

  • Replace 
    -- --headless
    invocations with 
    unity
    .
  • Replace 
    install -v <version>
    with 
    install <version>
    (positional).
  • Replace 
    install-modules --version
    / 
    -v
    with 
    --editor-version
    / 
    -e
    .
  • Replace 
    editors --add
    with 
    editors add
    .

Medium: behavior changes that can produce wrong results

  • Piped 
    stdout
    defaults to TSV, not plain text.
  • Errors go to 
    stderr
    , not 
    stdout
    .
  • Progress output format changed. Don't parse it.

Low: additive changes that don't break existing usage

  • New commands: 
    auth
    , 
    open
    , 
    projects
    , 
    uninstall
    , 
    upgrade
    .
  • New flags such as 
    --verbose
    , 
    --list
    , and 
    --all
    .
  • Version aliases: 
    latest
    , 
    lts
    , 
    default
    , and short majors.
  • New exit code 
    130
    for user cancellation.