new-unity-project

New Unity Project

A guided flow from an idea to a running, version-controlled Unity project. This skill owns the flow — the questions, their ordering, running slow installs in the background while you ask, and the handoffs. It deliberately does not re-document commands; it delegates the mechanics to other skills.

Delegates to (read these for the actual commands — don't reinvent them):

• unity-cli — CLI install, auth/license, Editor install, project creation, source control, opening the project. Its "Bootstrap a new project from scratch" workflow is the backbone here.
• unity-package-management — installing packages via the C# PackageManager Client API, and choosing packages by genre / platform / monetization.
• implement-in-app-purchases, levelplay-unity-integration, build-live-game — monetization / backend integration (invoked at the end).

Work one step at a time. Ask only the current step's questions and wait for the user before moving on — platform and monetization answers change what you install, so don't gather everything up front or scaffold before they're settled.

The flow — and where the parallelism is

1. Concept — what they're building.
2. Platforms & monetization — then, as soon as platforms are known, kick off the Editor install in the background (it takes minutes) and keep talking.
3. (joins) Editor + platform modules finish installing.
4. Project + source control — create from a matching template; init git.
5. Packages — install via the C# Client API.
6. Save & first commit.
7. Hand off monetization / backend.

The whole point of a guided flow over a raw recipe: the multi-minute Editor install overlaps the minutes the user spends answering concept questions, so setup feels instant.

Step 1 — Concept

Use AskUserQuestion so the user can pick fast, but let them answer freely too. Cover:

• Genre / core loop — platformer, top-down shooter, puzzle, idle, RPG, racing, card, tower defense, sim, hyper-casual, first-person, etc.
• Dimension & look — 2D or 3D; art style (pixel, low-poly, stylized, realistic, UI-only).
• Gameplay — the one-sentence "what the player does moment to moment."
• Scope — single-screen prototype vs. multi-scene game; single-player or multiplayer.

Also settle on a project name. Write a 2–4 line project brief, read it back to confirm. The brief drives template choice (Step 4) and packages (Step 5).

Step 2 — Platforms & monetization, then start installing

Two decisions, because both change what you install:

• Target platforms (multi-select): Desktop (Win/macOS/Linux), Mobile (iOS/Android), WebGL, Console. These map to Editor modules (Step 3) and argue for leaner packages on mobile/WebGL.
• Monetization: none / premium / in-app purchases / ads / mix. This only decides which handoff skill you invoke in Step 7 — don't integrate it now.

Confirm the Editor version to use (default: latest LTS — see unity-cli for the LTS vs. Tech vs. beta trade-off). Ask this now, before kicking off the install, so you don't install the wrong one.

Then confirm prerequisites and launch the Editor install as a background task so it runs while you continue. See the unity-cli skill for exact syntax, module names per platform, and auth / license setup:

unity --version
unity auth status --format json      # if signed out:  unity auth login
unity license status --format json   # if none active: unity license activate

# Start in the BACKGROUND, then go straight back to the conversation. Module names per platform
# (android / ios / webgl / …) are in the unity-cli skill.
unity install lts --module <platform-modules> --yes --accept-eula

Run that install as a background task (don't block on it). If you have nothing left to ask, it's fine to just wait — the parallelism only helps when there's a conversation to overlap.

Step 3 — Join: Editor ready

Before creating the project, confirm the background install finished:

unity editors --installed --format json

If it failed, surface the error (see unity-cli troubleshooting) and stop — nothing downstream works without an Editor.

Step 4 — Create the project + source control

Follow the unity-cli "Bootstrap a new project from scratch" workflow verbatim:

• List the real template ids the Editor offers (unity templates list) and pick one matching 2D/3D and render pipeline from the brief — don't guess ids.
• Create with unity projects create "<Name>" --path <dir> --editor-version <v> --template <id>.
• Set up source control — ask the user which they want, don't assume: Git (GitHub / GitLab; add --git-lfs for asset-heavy games) or Unity Version Control (--vcs uvcs, which handles large binary assets natively — no LFS), or a purely local git init + Unity .gitignore. Publish in one step with unity projects create --vcs … --git-token-stdin --no-initial-commit (tokens on stdin). Pass --no-initial-commit so the CLI doesn't commit the bare project before packages and .meta files exist — you make the real first commit/check-in in Step 6. See the unity-cli workflow for exact flags.

Step 5 — Packages

Map the brief to a concrete package list and install it via the unity-package-management skill (C# PackageManager Client API — never hand-edit manifest.json). Read that skill for the genre/platform/monetization → package mapping, the installer script, and the -quit gotcha. Read the final list back to the user before installing; verify manifest.json afterward.

Step 6 — Save & first commit

Open the project once so Unity imports the assets and generates every .meta file, then make the first commit with whichever VCS you set up in Step 4:

unity open "<project-path>"     # imports + generates .meta; for headless/CI use the
                                # "Import & save headlessly" method in unity-package-management

• Git (GitHub / GitLab / local):

  cd "<project-path>"
  git add -A
  git status                    # Library/ Temp/ obj/ Build/ must NOT be staged
  git commit -m "Initial Unity project: <Name>"
  

  Every .cs/asset must be committed together with its .meta.
• Unity Version Control (UVCS): check in through your UVCS client/workspace (created during Step 4) — there's no git step. Generated folders are still excluded by the ignore rules.

If you published via --vcs in Step 4 without --no-initial-commit, the CLI already made an initial commit of the bare project — add a follow-up commit here rather than double-committing.

Step 7 — Hand off

Based on Step 2 monetization, invoke the matching skill for the actual integration:

• IAP → implement-in-app-purchases
• Ads → levelplay-unity-integration
• Accounts / cloud save / economy / remote config / leaderboards → build-live-game

Report the project path, Editor version, installed packages, and next steps.

Scope — what this skill does NOT do

• No gameplay scaffolding. It gets you to a running, empty-but-wired project; building the actual game (scenes, controllers, art) is the next conversation — iterate there with the Editor via the unity-cli MCP server and the Package Manager. Generic genre skeletons tend to produce throwaway mocked primitives, so this skill intentionally stops at a clean starting point.
• No command reference. Syntax lives in unity-cli / unity-package-management.

Checklist

• Concept brief captured and confirmed (genre, look, gameplay, scope, name)
• Platforms + monetization recorded; Editor version chosen
• Editor + platform modules installed (started in the background during Step 2)
• Project created from a matching template; git initialized with a Unity .gitignore
• Packages installed via the C# Client API; manifest.json verified
• Project opened/saved so .meta files exist; first commit made; Library/ excluded
• Handed off to the monetization/backend skill if applicable

Common mistakes

• Blocking on the Editor install instead of backgrounding it while you ask questions.
• Installing the wrong Editor because the version wasn't confirmed before the background install.
• Gathering all questions up front — platform/monetization answers change the modules and packages.
• Hand-editing manifest.json instead of using the Client API (see unity-package-management).
• Committing Library//Temp//obj//Build/, or scripts without their .meta files.
• Missing Editor modules — a mobile target needs android/ios; WebGL needs webgl.