Summary
When debugging a Unity project using JetBrains Rider, the Unity Editor consistently freezes with a “Reloading Domain” status after a few debugging iterations. This issue disrupts the typical debugging workflow, persists across application restarts, and requires a temporary workaround that is only effective for a limited number of debugging cycles. Steps to Reproduce
Open a Unity project in JetBrains Rider.
In Rider, click “Attach to Unity Editor & Play” to initiate a debugging session.
When a breakpoint is hit in Rider, stop the debugging session.
Verify that the Unity Editor exits play mode as expected.
Add additional breakpoints in the code, positioned before the previously hit breakpoint (as part of a standard debugging process).
Repeat step 2 by clicking “Attach to Unity Editor & Play” again.
Perform this debugging loop multiple times (e.g., 1-2 iterations).
Expected Behavior
The Unity Editor should seamlessly handle multiple debugging sessions without freezing.
The “Reloading Domain” process should complete quickly, allowing uninterrupted development and debugging.
Observed Behavior
The debugging process functions correctly for the first 1-2 iterations.
After a few cycles, the Unity Editor freezes indefinitely with a “Reloading Domain” status (tested for up to 10 minutes without resolution).
Closing and reopening both Rider and the Unity Editor does not resolve the issue:
Upon reopening the Unity Editor first and launching Rider (e.g., by double-clicking a script), the freeze occurs immediately on the first attempt to debug with “Attach to Unity Editor & Play”.
Even without Rider attached, the Unity Editor independently becomes stuck in “Reloading Domain” when entering play mode.
Repeatedly closing and reopening both applications fails to restore normal functionality.
Workaround
In the frozen Unity Editor, select File > Save Project, then close the editor.
Reopen both the Unity Editor and Rider.
Debugging resumes working for 1-2 additional sessions before the freeze reoccurs.
Impact
This issue results in significant productivity loss due to frequent freezes and the need to repeatedly apply the workaround.
It severely disrupts the debugging workflow, hindering efficient code iteration and testing.
Additional Notes
This behavior appears specific to the combination of JetBrains Rider and Unity, as similar workflows using other IDEs (e.g., VSCode for backend development) do not exhibit this issue.
The persistence of the freeze across application restarts suggests a deeper underlying problem in the integration between Rider and Unity.
Request
Please investigate and address this issue to ensure a stable and reliable debugging experience for developers using JetBrains Rider with Unity. The current behavior significantly impacts development efficiency, and a permanent fix would greatly benefit the community.
Does this occur in a new, empty project?
Does it occur in the latest patch version 6000.0.40f1?
Is the Rider package up to date?
Did you try the Rider option of invalidating caches? (near the bottom of the File menu, tick all checkboxes and restart).
Note that Jetbrains is responsible for Rider integration, not Unity. So if you can reproduce this, you should report a bug on Jetbrain’s website.
Hi seidgaparov,
have you found a fix for your issue?
I’ve had the same problem for a while now. Unity would get stuck at reloading the domain whenever I attach the Rider debugger. Reading through other threads I found that Unity Version Control caused the issue for some. I didn’t want to work without VC, so I never tried. However, simply uninstalling and reinstalling the VC package actually seems to have solved my issue.
I hope that I’m not saying this too early, but I’ve been having no issues since yesterday.
If you’re using Unity VC, you could try this and report back (removing the package didn’t seem to impact the actual repository, so there should be no risk).
Edit: Nevermind, I was talking too early.
I don’t know if there’s any relevance, but it started happening again after getting some sort of internal build system error randomly after making code changes and then restarting. Since then it’s back to how it was before - getting stuck whenever I attach the debugger and make any code change or enter play mode.
I have also tried setting the MonoLogLevel to warning (as stated in this thread) but it yields only this at the end of the Editor.Log
Reloading assemblies after finishing script compilation.
Reloading assemblies after forced synchronous recompile.
Begin MonoManager ReloadAssembly
The cause of this might be different in your case but obviously this shouldn’t be happening, and others seem to still have this issue even today (that thread was made in 2022 and still gets new comments as of Feb this year).
Edit 2: Uninstalling and immediately reinstalling Unity VC again does not help in any way, but uninstalling it, then reloading the domain, followed by reinstalling it (while Rider is attached during all this time even) makes it work again. I’m confused.
Thanks for response! If we collect all possible cases that may lead to an issue, I believe we would definitely find a solution. I agree that after script compilation chances to get stuck are higher but not 100%.
Just a little update from me. Keeping the Version Control package uninstalled solved my issues, but this person (linked above) figured out which version causes Unity to get stuck at domain reloads and I installed the previous version, which seems to work fine.
Again, not sure if OP has a different issue, but maybe this info can help anyone else coming across this thread.
Sorry for the late reply. Look for version 2.3.1 (here) and click on Add version 2.3.1 by name while your project is opened and it will install that specific version.
Man, you saved us countless hours of development by finding the issue. Thank you. We obliterated It from a project because we use Unity DevOps Version Control (previous Plastic). And problem was solved.
Wow! Finally, after so many wasted hours. Restarting both Rider and Unity Editor usually solved it, this time… nope. Had other issues with Unity VCS as well, some time ago. 1 to 2 FPS in PlayMode… getting desperate with the Profiler, only to find out by accident that an additional Tab in the Project-Hierachy Window was open… guess what, Unity VCS. Now i finally removed it. Thank you so much!
I’ve been having this issue for so long with Rider and Unity persisting across multiple version of both. I’ve never had Unity Version Control installed either so this fix doesn’t work for me Any other suggestions here?
Any other suggestions here?