Versioning

Editor Foundations supports the latest Long Term Support (LTS) releases for the Unity Editor. It does not cover content related to unofficial releases.

UI Frameworks for the Unity Editor

The Editor supports two user interface (UI) creation frameworks, UI Toolkitand IMGUI.

More information on these frameworks can be found in the Unity documentation.

Goals

Editor Foundations is a collection of reusable components, patterns, style guidance, and API references that enables the creation of high-quality Editor experiences at scale.

The aim of Editor Foundations is to improve the Unity user experience by making the Editor UI more consistent, coherent, and easier to use by:

  • defining best practices for the UI design of the Editor and extensions
  • giving clear design rationale so users can make well-informed decisions when building UI
  • providing up-to-date documentation for the latest Unity LTS release
  • creating a virtuous feedback loop that allows users to suggest fixes and improvements to both the Editor and the Editor Foundations design system

Usability Principles

A robust set of usability principles underpins the Editor Foundations' guidance at every stage. This strong grounding ensures a quality user experience in the Editor through the creation of consistent UI.

Users first

  • We incorporate a deep understanding of Editor creators that is informed by ongoing user research
  • We place creator goals and needs at the heart of every design and content decision
  • We provide a consistent design foundation that accelerates users’ creativity and new ideas

Driving alignment

  • We use a common language that both designers and engineers can understand
  • We balance ideal design best practices with how the Editor realistically works
  • We promote consistent standards and practices to unify the look and behavior of UI across the Editor

Authentically Unity

  • We are guided by the core Unity Values to work collaboratively with various technologies and our users
  • We adjust Editor Foundations guidance as the needs of our creators and platforms evolve
  • We prioritize bold and thoughtful enhancements that improve the daily lives of the Unity community