Custom Packages With Version Numbers

[garrilla]

I’ve trying to make a custom package that will let me distribute a plugin, and associated assets on a private basis.

If I update the assets or the plugin - how do I give it a version so it can be seen in package manager by my customer

is this even possible?

[samuelb_unity]

Hi @ ,

It sounds like you want a private registry. With a private registry, you can publish new versions of your package and they will be listed in the Package Manager window for any Unity project that points to that registry. You can even have a project that points to Unity’s registry as well as your own. This feature is called “scoped registries” and is described here:

Setup for scoped registries (private registries)

Hello @rz_0lento , Sure. Here it is! Introduction The concept of scopes is borrowed from npm (https://docs.npmjs.com/misc/scope), it allows a subset of packages to be hosted on a registry other than the default. Configuration (manifest.json) Project manifests (manifest.json) can now contain any number of scoped registry configurations in the scopedRegistries attribute. The scopes attribute of each configuration is an array of strings that can be mapped to a package name in …

If setting up your own registry server is not feasible, there are other ways of sharing your package privately such as through a Github repository. Let me know if you want more details!

[garrilla]

hi @samuelb_unity

yes, I’d like to know more about how to do this through a git repo (although most likely to bitbucket than github)

thanks

[samuelb_unity]

Sure, in the Package Manager window you can click the + button and Add package from package ID.... The package ID should be in the format @ where the URL ends with “.git”. For more information on formatting the URL (such as specifying a branch or specific commit) see here:

Git support on Package Manager

Hi @rz_0lento , Glad you have found the pattern :). As stated in the release notes, this is an experimental feature. We are targeting production ready quality for 2019.1. Super glad that you are trying this out though. Please, let us know if you find any issues. And here is a minimalist documentation if you would like to expand your testing further and maybe for others who are reading this thread. Requirements To use Git packages in a project, Git must be installed on the user machine. …

If you open your project manifest (/Packages/manifest.json) you will see the git package has been added to “dependencies” and a “lock” attribute is set. This means your Unity project is locked to that specific revision of the repo e.g.

{
  "dependencies": {
    "my-package": "https://bitbucket.com/my-package.git"
  },
  "lock": {
    "my-package": {
      "hash": "abc123",
      "revision": "HEAD"
    }
  }
}

If you push a new revision and you want your project to get it, simply delete the whole “lock” entry and Package Manager will grab the latest i.e.

{
  "dependencies": {
    "my-package": "https://bitbucket.com/my-package.git"
  }
}

Be careful not to leave any trailing commas behind as this is not valid JSON

[garrilla]

Thanks.

Is this “lock” deletion a one-time-only affair or each revision?

[samuelb_unity]

You will have to delete the lock (or add the package again) every time you want to fetch the latest revision. This is by design because, for example, 2 people on the same project should always get the same packages. There might be plans in the future to make this easier through the Package Manager window e.g. an “Update to latest” button.

[alexzzzz]

You can add a branch name at the end:

"my-package": "https://bitbucket.com/my-package.git#branch"

and use the branch name as a version ID to switch between versions back and forth with no need to delete the “lock” section.

[samuelb_unity]

Yep, or you could stay on the same branch and use tags to differentiate version releases. In fact, any commit-ish identifier can follow the # symbol.