Lesson 8 +10 XP

Project Configuration & Folders

Unity projects require a clean folder structure and correct configuration files for collaboration and version control.

When you create a new Unity project, several folders are generated:

Assets: Contains all your game files (scripts, textures, models, scenes). This is the only folder you should edit directly.
Library: Local cache where Unity stores converted target format assets. Do NOT include this in version control.
ProjectSettings: Contains configurations for physics, tags, input, and player branding. Must be included in version control.
UserSettings: Local editor layouts and preferences. Do NOT commit this to version control.

Unity treats folders with specific names differently:

Editor: Scripts placed here run inside the Unity Editor and can use UnityEditor APIs. They are ignored when compiling the final build.
Resources: Assets placed here can be loaded dynamically in code using Resources.Load(). Avoid using this for large games to prevent memory issues.
StreamingAssets: Files here are copied directly to the target build folder with no compression or conversion. Useful for video clips or database files.
Plugins: Used to store external third-party SDKs, precompiled DLLs, or native code libraries.

Unity integrates with Git, Plastic SCM (Unity Version Control), and Perforce. To configure:

Go to Edit -> Project Settings -> Version Control.
Set the mode (e.g. Visible Meta Files).
Ensure .meta files are always committed. Every asset has a corresponding .meta file containing its GUID; deleting or losing meta files breaks asset references.

Assets and ProjectSettings must be committed to version control.
Keep Library, UserSettings, and Temp out of version control (.gitignore).
Special folders (Editor, Resources, StreamingAssets) have unique compile behaviors.
Always preserve .meta files, as they track asset UUIDs and links.