Unity built-in folders guide

[Veehmot]

I didn’t found anywhere this information all together, and as a beginner it was helpful to me to get a better overview of Unity3D workflow.

These are the folders that Unity3D has awareness of, that are used somewhere or gets a special treatment.
Quoted are the mentions in the documentation of the corresponding folder, and a link to that documentation is provided.

• /Assets/Editor – Editor Classes

To use editor classes you have to place your script in Assets/Editor inside your project folder.

• /Assets/Editor Default Resources/ – EditorGUIUtility.Load

This function will look in Assets/Editor Default Resources/ + path for the resource. If not there, it will try the built-in editor resources by name.

• /Assets/Gizmos – Gizmos

The icon’s path can be found in the Assets/Gizmos folder or in the Unity.app/Contents/Resources folder.

• /Assets/Plugins – Plugins

Once you have built your bundle you have to copy it to Assets/Plugins folder.

• /Assets/Pro Standard Assets – Script compilation

All scripts in this folder are compiled first. Scripts in this folders can’t directly access scripts outside.

• /Assets/Pro Standard Assets/Editor – Script compilation

All scripts in this folder are compiled in second place

• /Assets/Resources – Resources

All assets that are in a folder named Resources anywhere in the Assets folder can be accessed via the Resources.Load functions. Multiple Resources folders may exist and when loading objects each will be examined.

• /Assets/Standard Assets – Script compilation

All scripts in this folder are compiled first. Scripts in this folders can’t directly access scripts outside.

• /Assets/Standard Assets/Editor – Script compilation

All scripts in this folder are compiled in second place

I know I’m missing something, I think the Editor folder had another default folder inside, but I can’t recall exactly which one. Please feel free to make any correction. Also, I didn’t know if this was the right place to post this, I hope it’s ok.

[Rafes]

The following are also separate assemblies (good to know for scope purposes and the use of the internal access modifier):

• Assets/Editor (Editor scripts only and not part of the game build - This includes gizmos in the case of DrawGizmo)
• Assets/Plugins
• Assets/… (not Plugins or Editor, I’m not sure about the other folders mentioned)

[andymads]

I just found something useful about the Editor folder. It seems you can have multiple Editor folders and not just a single Assets/Editor folder.

I like this as it allows me to have project specific editor scripts and common editor scripts (which can more easily be shared between multiple projects).

EDIT:

Actually it’s not as clear cut as this. Classes that derive from ScriptableWizard must be in Assets/Editor. However static class methods that are given a menu item do appear to work in multiple folders.

EDIT 2:

Ok, this is slightly wrong. Classes that derive from ScriptableWizard can be in other Editor folders but I think they cannot be under Plugins.