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A useful Unity preflight scanner should catch file- and configuration-level risks early, then hand checks that depend on Unity’s interpreted project state to the Editor. ShipCheck is a proposed design, not an established or tested product: Unity’s documentation supports the building blocks for this workflow, but does not establish what ShipCheck detects or how reliable it would be.
What a Unity preflight scanner should check
ShipCheck would be most useful as a two-stage validator rather than a tool that claims to predict every build failure. Its first stage could inspect version-controlled project files and configuration without opening Unity. Its second stage could ask the Unity Editor to validate conditions that depend on the active build context.
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Every finding should name the target and the Build Profile or configuration it applies to, identify the relevant file or setting, explain why it matters, and suggest a next step. A warning about a scene, for example, is incomplete if it does not say which profile’s scene list was checked.
Static checks: inspect files and configuration
A static scan can be designed to flag conditions visible in the project’s files and configuration. Example rules might check whether expected project files are present, whether configuration entries match a project’s declared release requirements, or whether a selected profile’s saved settings appear to omit an expected scene. These are proposed rule categories, not verified ShipCheck capabilities; the scanner’s accuracy would depend on how it interprets Unity’s project data.
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Static results should distinguish a definite inconsistency in the files from a risk that needs Editor confirmation. The scanner should not describe a configuration warning as proof that a Player build will fail.
Editor-backed checks: validate Unity’s build context
Some checks need Unity to load the project and interpret its settings. Unity documents BuildPipeline.BuildPlayer for building a Player programmatically and IPreprocessBuildWithReport for logic that runs before a Player build. Those APIs provide places to integrate validation; they do not guarantee that a separate static scanner can foresee all build errors.
Unity also documents IProcessSceneWithReport, an interface for scene-processing work. A project could use Editor-side validation around the build workflow when a check requires loaded scene or build state, while keeping file-only checks available earlier.
Why the selected Build Profile matters
In Unity 6, a Build Profile is a set of configuration settings for building an application for a platform. Profiles are saved as project assets, and scene lists can be specific to a profile. Unity distinguishes platform profiles, which share scene data, from independent Build Profiles that can preserve separate build configurations. See Unity’s Introduction to build profiles.
That makes “scan the project” too vague for a release check. A scanner should accept or otherwise resolve the intended target and profile, then report the exact one it examined. It should not assume there is one universal scene list or configuration for every build.
Unity 6 names the window for creating configurations and managing included scenes Build Profiles; Unity documentation notes that it was previously called Build Settings. Older Unity versions and familiar legacy discussions may still use the older name. For Unity 6 instructions, use the Build Profiles terminology and confirm the profile selected for the intended build. The Editor workflow is documented in Create a build from the Editor.
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Static-only scanning versus Editor-integrated preflight
| Question | Static project scan | Editor-integrated preflight |
|---|---|---|
| Can it run without launching Unity? | Yes, if its rules use files and configuration it can read directly. | No; it depends on the Unity Editor being invoked. |
| Can it check a profile’s scene list? | It could inspect saved profile data, but that is a proposed design and must identify the profile it parsed. | It can validate within the Editor’s loaded build context; profile selection still needs to be explicit. |
| Can it run in the Player pre-build callback? | No, not by itself. | Yes. Unity documents IPreprocessBuildWithReport.OnPreprocessBuild as a Player pre-build callback. |
| Can it run in batch-mode automation? | Yes, as a standalone check in an automation pipeline. | Yes, when automation invokes a project’s custom Editor build script through Unity batch mode. |
| What can it establish? | Deterministic checks against the files and configuration it understands. | Checks that require Unity’s loaded project or Player build workflow; neither route guarantees detection of every build problem. |
The distinction is about evidence available to the check, not a ranking of tools. Static checks can run earlier and independently; Editor-backed checks can use Unity’s build context. Combining them gives a project a way to surface file-level concerns early and reserve context-dependent validation for Unity.
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How to connect preflight to a Player build
- Choose the target and profile. Make the intended platform and Build Profile explicit in the release process. Record them in the scan result so findings cannot be mistaken for checks of another configuration.
- Run the static scan. Inspect the project’s tracked files and relevant saved configuration. Report the path or setting for each finding, along with whether it is a confirmed file-level issue or a condition requiring Editor validation.
- Run Editor-dependent validation. Invoke a custom Editor build script or integrate checks with the Player build workflow. Unity documents
IPreprocessBuildWithReportfor pre-build work andBuildPipeline.BuildPlayerfor programmatic Player builds. - Automate the same selection. Unity’s custom build script guidance describes invoking Editor automation from the command line with batch mode, a project path, an active profile, and an execute method. Configure the pipeline to use the intended profile rather than relying on an unstated default.
- Keep the scope accurate.
IPreprocessBuildWithReport.OnPreprocessBuildis part of the Player build workflow; Unity specifically documents that it is not called for AssetBundle builds. Do not treat it as a universal hook for every kind of Unity build operation.
What ShipCheck can—and cannot—claim
Unity’s documentation establishes a profile-based configuration model and Editor extension points for Player builds. It does not establish ShipCheck as an existing product, nor does it provide evidence about a scanner’s coverage, performance, adoption, or ability to prevent build failures. Until an implementation is available and tested, ShipCheck’s rules should be presented as design proposals.
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A credible preflight report would therefore show its scope: the project, target, profile, checks run, findings, and any checks deferred because they require Unity or an actual build. That makes the result actionable without presenting a static scan as a guarantee that a build will succeed.
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