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Getting started

The Package Manager uses three interfaces to communicate with users, manifests, and registries:

  • You can use the Packages window, which is the Package Manager user interface, to quickly browse and search for features. It also allows you to easily select the packages you want to install and update, and resolve conflicts in package dependencies.
  • The Package Manager provides a dedicated Inspector in Unity, which allows you to walk through the contents of packages and view their manifests. This Project view integration means you can also edit package manifestsEach package has a package manifest, which provides information about the package to the Package Manager. The manifest contains information such as the name of the package, its version, a description for users, dependencies on other packages (if any), and other details. More info
    See in Glossary
    directly in Unity for embedded or local packages.
  • The Package Manager scripting API enables users to interact with the Package Manager programmatically.

Where to find out more information about packages

The next step depends on what level of experience you have and what problem you are trying to solve.

If you are only interested in finding documentation for a specific package, see Finding package documentation.

For information about using packages with the Unity Package Manager, the following table provides links to various topics of this documentation:

What do you want to do? See this documentation:
Get an introduction to Packages Finding packages explains how to use the Packages window to find specific versions of each package.

The Packages window section explains how to interact with the Unity Package Manager inside Unity.

The Packages documentation page lists the packages that are currently available for this version of Unity, with links to the documentation for the most recent version published.
Install a package Installing from the registry describes how to use the Packages window to install a new package from the registry.

Installing a local package describes how to use the Packages window to install a package from a local folder.

Dependencies describes how to edit the Project manifest to install packages from all locations, including two locations that the Packages window doesn’t support: Embedded and Git URLs.

Switching to another package version describes how to use the Packages window to switch versions of a package already installed.

Removing an installed package describes how to use the Packages window to remove a package from your Project.

Disabling a built-in package describes how to use the Packages window to enable and disable built-in packages.
Troubleshoot a package If any of your Project’s packages, including the Packages window itself, fails to load correctly, refer to the Troubleshooting and Package conflicts sections.
Learn more about working with manifests The Project manifestEach Unity Project has a Project manifest, which acts as an entry point for the Package Manager. This file must be available in the <project>/Packages directory. The Package Manager uses it to configure many things, including a list of dependencies for that Project, as well as any package repository to query for packages. More info
See in Glossary
reference page describes each attribute, including what values are valid and what role they play.

The Inspecting packages reference page describes how to view a package manifest in the Inspector. If the package is mutable (editable), you can also use the Inspector to modify the manifest itself.
Learn advanced ways to work with packages To get started creating scripts that interact with the Package Manager, see Scripting API for packages. It provides a high-level overview of working with the Package Manager APIs and code samples for browsing the list of packages and adding a package to a Project.

If you want to find out about how to use your own package registry server in addition to the standard Unity registry, see Scoped package registries.
Build and share your own tools and AssetsAny media or data that can be used in your game or Project. An asset may come from a file created outside of Unity, such as a 3D model, an audio file or an image. You can also create some asset types in Unity, such as an Animator Controller, an Audio Mixer or a Render Texture. More info
See in Glossary
in a package
The Custom packages section is a complete guide on building your own packages. It explains custom package requirements, such as naming and file structure. It also covers how to fill out the package manifest, share your package, and more.

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Packages
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