---

name: unity-material description: Edit material and shader properties across Built-in/URP/HDRP

Before 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 *_batch skills 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 *_batch variants) 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) are SkillMode.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 asset module.

Guardrails

DO NOT (common hallucinations):

• material_set_metallic / material_set_smoothness do not exist → use material_set_float with propertyName="_Metallic" or "_Glossiness" (Standard) / "_Smoothness" (URP)
• material_set_color r/g/b/a range is 0–1, not 0–255
• material_set_property does not exist → use the specific setter: material_set_float, material_set_int, material_set_vector, material_set_color
• material_get_color does not exist → use material_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 to renderer.sharedMaterial and 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-in Default-Material, so material_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 → materialPath names 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) or path. Behaviour of path:

• In material_set_* / material_get_* (color/emission/texture/float/int/vector/keyword/shader/render_queue/gi_flags/properties), path may be either a GameObject hierarchy path or a material asset path like Assets/Materials/X.mat — the skill auto-detects (paths starting with Assets/ or ending with .mat are treated as material assets).
• In material_assign, path is a GameObject hierarchy path only; the material to assign goes in the separate materialPath parameter.

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 texture
• material_set_texture_offset / material_set_texture_scale - Texture tiling
• material_set_float / material_set_int / material_set_vector - Set properties
• material_set_keyword - Enable/disable shader keywords
• material_set_render_queue - Set render queue
• material_set_shader - Change shader
• material_set_gi_flags - Set global illumination flags
• material_get_properties / material_get_keywords - Query properties
• material_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 _BaseColor and a legacy _Color, and only _BaseColor is authoritative. material_get_properties lists both, but writing _BaseColor does not update the _Color entry — a verification pass that reads _Color will report the old colour and look like a failed write. Compare against _BaseColor, and trust the setter's propertyUsed field over your own guess about which property was involved. Only pass propertyName explicitly when auto-detection picked the wrong one.

Best Practices

1. Save materials as assets for reuse
2. Write by asset path (path="Assets/.../X.mat"): it states exactly which asset changes
3. 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
4. Check shader property names in Unity Inspector, or read them from material_get_properties
5. 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.