About unity-material
A skill module for managing materials in Unity projects, intended for workflows that change appearance, shaders, or material properties. It supports batch operations and warns that editing a shared material asset can affect multiple objects.
Key features
- 01Create, duplicate, and assign materials
- 02Set colors, emission, and textures
- 03Change shaders and material properties
- 04Batch operations across materials or objects
- 05Query material properties and keywords
Use cases
- 01Creating and configuring project materials
- 02Assigning or setting materials on multiple objects
- 03Adjusting texture tiling, render queues, or GI flags
MCP support
The module provides Unity material operations through skills. Mutating skills require user approval by default but can run directly in Auto / Bypass mode; query skills run in all modes.
Install
Copy the command and run it in a terminal.
npx skills add https:/ / github.com/ besty0728/ unity-skills --skill unity-materialAfter installing, type/unity-materialin Claude Code to confirm it loaded.
Details
From the project READMEBefore calling any skill in this module: if you are about to call a skill with parameters guessed from its name or description, STOP — read this file (or fetch its schema via
GET /skills/recommend?includeSchema=true) first. If you already have the parameter definitions from recommend/schema, you may proceed straight to dryRun.
Triggers
- Changing how a surface looks
- Tweaking material parameters
- Swapping shaders
- 调整物体外观、修改材质参数、切换 Shader
Unity Material Skills
BATCH-FIRST: Use
*_batchskills when operating on 2+ objects/materials.
Operating Mode
- Approval (default): all mutating skills (
material_create,material_create_batch,material_assign,material_assign_batch,material_duplicate,material_set_color/_emission/_texture/_float/_int/_vector/_keyword/_render_queue/_shader/_texture_offset/_texture_scale/_gi_flags, and the*_batchvariants) need user grant; grant triggers a single server-side execution that returns the result. - Auto / Bypass: those skills execute directly.
- Query skills (
material_get_properties,material_get_keywords) areSkillMode.SemiAuto— they run in all three modes without grant. - This module contains no Delete / PlayMode / Reload / high-risk skills (no NeverInSemi); to delete a material asset, call the
assetmodule.
Guardrails
DO NOT (common hallucinations):
material_set_metallic/material_set_smoothnessdo not exist → usematerial_set_floatwithpropertyName="_Metallic"or"_Glossiness"(Standard) /"_Smoothness"(URP)material_set_colorr/g/b/a range is 0–1, not 0–255material_set_propertydoes not exist → use the specific setter:material_set_float,material_set_int,material_set_vector,material_set_colormaterial_get_colordoes not exist → usematerial_get_properties(returns all properties including colors)
Routing:
- For shader changes →
material_set_shader(this module) - For texture tiling →
material_set_texture_scale/material_set_texture_offset - Pipeline-specific property names differ: check Render Pipeline Compatibility table in this doc
⚠️ Targeting a GameObject edits the material asset, not that one object. There is no per-object material instance here: every
material_set_*resolves a GameObject torenderer.sharedMaterialand writes the asset on disk — an asset mutation, not a scene edit, whatever the individual skill's declared flags say. A freshly created primitive carries Unity's built-inDefault-Material, somaterial_set_color(name="Cube")recolours every object in the project still using it — the classic "I coloured one cube and the whole scene changed" bug. Target by GameObject name only after confirming that object owns a material nobody else shares (material_get_properties→materialPathnames the asset that would be written).
Safe route for "make this object red" — create, colour the asset by path, then assign:
unity_skills.call_skill("material_create", name="Red", savePath="Assets/Materials")
unity_skills.call_skill("material_set_color", path="Assets/Materials/Red.mat", r=1, g=0, b=0)
unity_skills.call_skill("material_assign", name="Cube", materialPath="Assets/Materials/Red.mat")
Object Targeting: Most single-object skills accept
name(GameObject name) orpath. Behaviour ofpath:
- In
material_set_*/material_get_*(color/emission/texture/float/int/vector/keyword/shader/render_queue/gi_flags/properties),pathmay be either a GameObject hierarchy path or a material asset path likeAssets/Materials/X.mat— the skill auto-detects (paths starting withAssets/or ending with.matare treated as material assets).- In
material_assign,pathis a GameObject hierarchy path only; the material to assign goes in the separatematerialPathparameter.
Skills Overview
| Single Object | Batch Version | Use Batch When |
|---|---|---|
material_create | material_create_batch | Creating 2+ materials |
material_assign | material_assign_batch | Assigning to 2+ objects |
material_set_color | material_set_colors_batch | Setting colors on 2+ objects |
material_set_emission | material_set_emission_batch | Setting emission on 2+ objects |
No batch needed:
material_set_texture- Set texturematerial_set_texture_offset/material_set_texture_scale- Texture tilingmaterial_set_float/material_set_int/material_set_vector- Set propertiesmaterial_set_keyword- Enable/disable shader keywordsmaterial_set_render_queue- Set render queuematerial_set_shader- Change shadermaterial_set_gi_flags- Set global illumination flagsmaterial_get_properties/material_get_keywords- Query propertiesmaterial_duplicate- Duplicate material
Skills
material_create
Create a new material (auto-detects render pipeline).
| Parameter | Type | Required | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
name | string | Yes | - | Material name |
shaderName | string | No | auto-detect | Shader (auto-detects URP/HDRP/Standard); an unresolved name falls back to the pipeline default and the response adds shaderRequested + warnings |
savePath | string | No | null | Assets/..., or a folder inside an embedded/local package (Packages/<id>/...); read-only packages are rejected |
material_create_batch
Create multiple materials.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
items | json string | Yes | - | JSON array of per-item objects (see example below) |
Returns: {success, totalItems, successCount, failCount, results: [{success, name, path}]}
unity_skills.call_skill("material_create_batch", items=[
{"name": "Red", "savePath": "Assets/Materials"},
{"name": "Blue", "savePath": "Assets/Materials"},
{"name": "Green", "savePath": "Assets/Materials"}
])
material_assign
Assign material to object's renderer.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
name | string | No* | GameObject name |
instanceId | int | No* | Instance ID |
path | string | No* | GameObject hierarchy path |
materialPath | string | Yes | Material asset to assign (e.g. Assets/Materials/X.mat) |
material_assign_batch
Assign materials to multiple objects.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
items | json string | Yes | - | JSON array of per-item objects (see example below) |
Returns: {success, totalItems, successCount, failCount, results: [{success, gameObject, material}]} — each item echoes gameObject (the object name) and material (the assigned asset path); failures come back as {error, target}.
unity_skills.call_skill("material_assign_batch", items=[
{"name": "Cube1", "materialPath": "Assets/Materials/Red.mat"},
{"name": "Cube2", "materialPath": "Assets/Materials/Blue.mat"}
])
material_set_color
Set material color with optional HDR intensity.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
name | string | No* | - | GameObject name |
instanceId | int | No* | 0 | GameObject instance ID |
path | string | No* | - | Material asset path |
r, g, b | float | No | 1 | Color (0-1) |
a | float | No | 1 | Alpha |
propertyName | string | No | auto-detect | Color property |
intensity | float | No | 1.0 | HDR intensity (>1 for bloom) |
Returns: {success, target, color, intensity, propertyUsed, hdrEnabled, materialPath}. Auto-detection tries the pipeline's property first, then _BaseColor, _Color, _TintColor, _EmissionColor, and propertyUsed reports which one it actually wrote — check it before concluding a colour "didn't apply". An explicit propertyName that the shader doesn't have (or that names a non-colour property like _Metallic) is rejected with validValues; one that's missing but is _BaseColor/_Color/_MainColor/_TintColor falls back to whichever of that family exists (propertyRequested + warnings report it). It never falls back to _EmissionColor for an explicit request.
material_set_colors_batch
Set colors on multiple objects. Each item accepts: identifier (name/instanceId/path) + r, g, b, a, optional per-item propertyName (same resolution rules as material_set_color; overrides the batch-level propertyName).
| Parameter | Type | Required | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
items | json string | Yes | - | JSON array of {name|instanceId|path, r, g, b, a, propertyName?} per-item objects (see example below) |
propertyName | string | No | auto-detect | Default color property applied to all items unless overridden |
Returns: {success, totalItems, successCount, failCount, results: [{target, success, propertyUsed, color}]} — the per-item key is target (GameObject name, or the path when you addressed the asset), not name; a rejected item fails the whole batch and rolls back the others (rolledBack:true, results[i].reverted:true).
unity_skills.call_skill("material_set_colors_batch", items=[
{"name": "Cube1", "r": 1, "g": 0, "b": 0},
{"name": "Cube2", "r": 0, "g": 1, "b": 0},
{"name": "Cube3", "r": 0, "g": 0, "b": 1}
])
material_set_emission
Set emission color with auto-enable keyword.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
name | string | No* | - | GameObject name |
instanceId | int | No* | 0 | GameObject instance ID |
path | string | No* | - | Material asset path |
r, g, b | float | No | 1 | Emission color (0-1) |
intensity | float | No | 1.0 | HDR intensity (>1 for bloom) |
enableEmission | bool | No | true | Auto-enable _EMISSION keyword |
material_set_emission_batch
Set emission on multiple objects.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
items | json string | Yes | - | JSON array of per-item objects (see example below) |
Returns: {success, totalItems, successCount, failCount, results: [{success, target, emissionColor, intensity, hdrColor, emissionEnabled}]} — a rejected item fails the whole batch and rolls back the others (rolledBack:true).
unity_skills.call_skill("material_set_emission_batch", items=[
{"name": "Neon1", "r": 1, "g": 0, "b": 1, "intensity": 5.0},
{"name": "Neon2", "r": 0, "g": 1, "b": 1, "intensity": 5.0}
])
material_set_texture
Set material texture.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
name | string | No* | - | GameObject name |
instanceId | int | No* | 0 | GameObject instance ID |
path | string | No* | - | Material asset path |
texturePath | string | Yes | - | Texture asset path |
propertyName | string | No | auto-detect | Texture property |
material_set_float
Set a float property on a material.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
name | string | No* | GameObject name |
instanceId | int | No* | GameObject instance ID |
path | string | No* | Material asset path |
propertyName | string | Yes | Property name |
value | float | No | Value (default 0) |
material_set_int
Set an integer property on a material.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
name | string | No* | GameObject name |
instanceId | int | No* | GameObject instance ID |
path | string | No* | Material asset path |
propertyName | string | Yes | Property name |
value | int | No | Value (default 0) |
material_set_keyword
Enable/disable shader keywords.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
name | string | No* | - | GameObject name |
instanceId | int | No* | 0 | GameObject instance ID |
path | string | No* | - | Material asset path |
keyword | string | Yes | - | Keyword name |
enable | bool | No | true | Enable or disable |
Common Keywords: _EMISSION, _NORMALMAP, _METALLICGLOSSMAP, _ALPHATEST_ON, _ALPHABLEND_ON
material_get_properties
Get all material properties.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
name | string | No* | GameObject name |
instanceId | int | No* | GameObject instance ID |
path | string | No* | Material asset path |
Returns: {success, target, materialPath, shader, renderQueue, keywords, giFlags, properties: {...}}
properties is a dictionary of five typed groups, not a flat list: colors, floats, vectors, textures, integers. Each group is an array of {name, description, value} (floats also carry min/max; a texture's value is the texture's name or null). So a property lookup is properties.colors[i].name, never properties[i].
materialPath is the asset path of the material actually inspected, and it is only ever a path you can feed straight back in. It is "" for a built-in material, and also "" for a material embedded in another asset such as an .fbx: that material does have a containing file, but the file's main asset is a GameObject rather than a Material, so handing the .fbx path back would fail with "material not found". An empty materialPath therefore means "this material cannot be addressed by path" — resolve it through its GameObject instead, and do not synthesise a path from the model's. Read it whenever you resolved the material through a GameObject: a non-empty value is the file a subsequent material_set_* on that object would write.
material_get_keywords
Get all enabled shader keywords on a material.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
name | string | No* | GameObject name |
instanceId | int | No* | GameObject instance ID |
path | string | No* | Material asset path |
Returns: {success, target, materialPath, shader, enabledKeywords, commonKeywordStatus} — materialPath is the resolved asset path of the material actually inspected (same guarantee as material_get_properties: "" for a built-in material, and "" for one embedded in another asset such as an .fbx, because that container's path is not feedable back in), and commonKeywordStatus is a {keyword, enabled} array covering the 14 usual suspects, so an absent keyword is distinguishable from an unchecked one.
material_duplicate
Duplicate a material asset.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
sourcePath | string | Yes | Source material path |
newName | string | Yes | Name for the duplicated material |
savePath | string | No | Optional folder/path override for the duplicated material; Assets/... or an embedded/local package folder, read-only packages rejected. Omitted: saved next to the source material |
material_set_shader
Change the shader of a material.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
name | string | No* | GameObject name |
instanceId | int | No* | GameObject instance ID |
path | string | No* | Material asset path |
shaderName | string | Yes | Shader name |
material_set_vector
Set a Vector4 property on a material.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
name | string | No* | GameObject name |
instanceId | int | No* | GameObject instance ID |
path | string | No* | Material asset path |
propertyName | string | Yes | Property name |
x, y, z, w | float | Yes | Vector components |
material_set_texture_offset
Set texture offset (tiling position).
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
name | string | No* | GameObject name |
instanceId | int | No* | GameObject instance ID |
path | string | No* | Material asset path |
propertyName | string | No | Texture property name |
x, y | float | Yes | Offset values |
material_set_texture_scale
Set texture scale (tiling).
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
name | string | No* | GameObject name |
instanceId | int | No* | GameObject instance ID |
path | string | No* | Material asset path |
propertyName | string | No | Texture property name |
x, y | float | Yes | Scale values |
material_set_render_queue
Set material render queue.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
name | string | No* | GameObject name |
instanceId | int | No* | GameObject instance ID |
path | string | No* | Material asset path |
renderQueue | int | No | Render queue value (default -1 = shader default) |
material_set_gi_flags
Set material global illumination flags.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
name | string | No* | - | GameObject name |
instanceId | int | No* | 0 | GameObject instance ID |
path | string | No* | - | GameObject hierarchy path or material asset path |
flags | string | No | RealtimeEmissive | GI flags: None / RealtimeEmissive / BakedEmissive / EmissiveIsBlack / AnyEmissive |
Example: Efficient Material Setup
import unity_skills
# BAD: 6 API calls
unity_skills.call_skill("material_create", name="Mat1", savePath="Assets/Materials")
unity_skills.call_skill("material_create", name="Mat2", savePath="Assets/Materials")
unity_skills.call_skill("material_set_color", path="Assets/Materials/Mat1.mat", r=1, g=0, b=0)
unity_skills.call_skill("material_set_color", path="Assets/Materials/Mat2.mat", r=0, g=0, b=1)
unity_skills.call_skill("material_assign", name="Cube1", materialPath="Assets/Materials/Mat1.mat")
unity_skills.call_skill("material_assign", name="Cube2", materialPath="Assets/Materials/Mat2.mat")
# GOOD: 3 API calls
unity_skills.call_skill("material_create_batch", items=[
{"name": "Mat1", "savePath": "Assets/Materials"},
{"name": "Mat2", "savePath": "Assets/Materials"}
])
unity_skills.call_skill("material_set_colors_batch", items=[
{"path": "Assets/Materials/Mat1.mat", "r": 1, "g": 0, "b": 0},
{"path": "Assets/Materials/Mat2.mat", "r": 0, "g": 0, "b": 1}
])
unity_skills.call_skill("material_assign_batch", items=[
{"name": "Cube1", "materialPath": "Assets/Materials/Mat1.mat"},
{"name": "Cube2", "materialPath": "Assets/Materials/Mat2.mat"}
])
Render Pipeline Compatibility
Skills auto-detect and adapt to your render pipeline:
| Pipeline | Default Shader | Color Property | Texture Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Built-in | Standard | _Color | _MainTex |
| URP | Universal Render Pipeline/Lit | _BaseColor | _BaseMap |
| HDRP | HDRP/Lit | _BaseColor | _BaseColorMap |
URP Lit exposes both
_BaseColorand a legacy_Color, and only_BaseColoris authoritative.material_get_propertieslists both, but writing_BaseColordoes not update the_Colorentry — a verification pass that reads_Colorwill report the old colour and look like a failed write. Compare against_BaseColor, and trust the setter'spropertyUsedfield over your own guess about which property was involved. Only passpropertyNameexplicitly when auto-detection picked the wrong one.
Best Practices
- Save materials as assets for reuse
- Write by asset path (
path="Assets/.../X.mat"): it states exactly which asset changes - Targeting by GameObject name writes that renderer's shared material asset — see the warning at the top of this file; it is not a per-object override
- Check shader property names in Unity Inspector, or read them from
material_get_properties - URP/HDRP have different property names than Standard
Exact Signatures
Exact names, parameters, defaults, and returns are defined by GET /skills/schema or unity_skills.get_skill_schema(), not by this file.
Common Errors
Full transport-level codes (COMPILING/RATE_LIMIT etc.) → ../../references/protocol-error-codes.md
| Error | Trigger | Fix |
|---|---|---|
TARGET_NOT_FOUND | The material asset, GameObject/renderer, shader, texture, or property could not be found (e.g., Material asset not found, No Renderer component found, Shader not found). | Verify the asset path with asset_find, the object with gameobject_find, or inspect available properties with material_get_properties. |
MISSING_PARAM | A required parameter is missing, such as materialPath, sourcePath, texturePath, propertyName, keyword, or shaderName. | Supply the parameter named in the error and retry; use mode=dryRun for the full schema. |
SEMANTIC_INVALID | An invalid value was supplied, such as an unrecognized GI flag, an invalid asset path, a property name the shader does not use, or a propertyName the shader does not declare as a colour. | Correct the value using the allowed range/enum/path convention described in the error. |