Model Library for Unity

A Unity Editor tool that lets teams version, browse, submit, and import 3D models (FBX, materials, textures) from a shared repository. It keeps a lightweight index for fast search and tag filtering, supports per‑project visibility, and preserves Unity GUIDs to enable reliable update detection.

Features

• Browser window with search and tag filters
• One‑click download, import, and update
• Submit new models or update existing ones from current selection
• Caching of model versions locally for fast re‑use
• High‑res preview thumbnail loading and display
• Per‑project visibility via project tags/scopes
• Repository‑agnostic: filesystem or HTTP backends

Quick Start

1. Open the Browser window

• Unity menu: Tools > Model Library > Browser.
• On first run, the setup wizard helps configure the repository location.

2. Configure the repository

• Choose repository kind:
  • File System: a folder on disk accessible to the team
  • HTTP: a web endpoint implementing the repository interface
• Set the repository root (path or base URL).

3. Browse and filter

• Use the search bar to filter by model name or tags.
• Open the tag foldout to select specific tags to include.

4. Download / Import / Update

• Download caches a version locally.
• Import copies the model into your project at the recommended install path (or a custom folder) and preserves Unity GUIDs.
• If a local version is detected, you’ll see the current and latest versions and can update in place.

5. Submit models

• Unity menu: Tools > Model Library > Submit Model.
• Select assets in the Project (FBX, materials, textures), set name/version/description/tags.
• Submit as a new model or update an existing one; the tool builds metadata and uploads the new version.

Screenshots

Add screenshots or GIFs here:

• Browser with search and tag filter
• Model details with preview thumbnail
• Submit window

How It Works

The library keeps a small, fast “index” for browsing and a full metadata file per model version.

• Index (models_index.json):

  • A list of entries: id, name, latest version, description, tags, update timestamps, optional project scopes.
  • Loaded once and cached for fast UI.

• Version metadata (model.json under <modelId>/<version>/):

  • Identity (id/name), version, description, author, timestamps
  • Payload paths, extracted assets (materials, textures)
  • Asset GUIDs (preserved .meta files) for reliable update detection
  • Images/previews and optional importer settings for FBX/OBJ
  • Changelog entries with summary/author/timestamps

Repository Layout

<repository-root>/
  models_index.json
  <modelId>/
    <version>/
      model.json
      payload/
        <files and deps>
      images/
        <screenshots and previews>

Local Cache

• Downloads are cached under a library path configured in settings.
• Import copies from cache into your Assets/ while keeping GUIDs so the system can detect updates accurately.

Configuration

• Settings are stored as a ScriptableObject; the first‑run wizard sets it up.
• You can refresh the index from the Browser toolbar.
• Preferred install path and a relative path can be set during submission; these are stored in metadata and suggested on import.

Workflows

• Browsing & Filtering

  • Search by name or tag; combine with tag selection foldout.
  • Only models visible to the current project (by project name) are listed if scoped.

• Import / Update

  • The Browser detects local installs (via marker files and matching asset GUIDs).
  • If a newer remote version exists, the UI offers an Update.

• Submitting Models

  • Select assets and open the Submit window.
  • For new models, a duplicate‑name check avoids accidental re‑submission.
  • For updates, the version must be greater than the latest; a change summary is required.

Extensibility

• Repository interface

  • Swappable backends (filesystem, HTTP). Implement the repository interface to add new storage backends.

• Metadata

  • model.json includes flexible extra and dependency fields to extend without schema changes.

Development

• Open the Unity project and locate the Editor code under Assets/ModelLibrary/Editor.
• Key editor windows
  • Browser: Editor/Windows/ModelLibraryWindow.cs
  • Submit: Editor/Windows/ModelSubmitWindow.cs
  • Details: Editor/Windows/ModelDetailsWindow.cs
• Core services
  • Library service: Editor/Infrastructure/Services/ModelLibraryService.cs
  • Deployer (build metadata from selection): Editor/Infrastructure/Services/ModelDeployer.cs

Building/Running

• No build step is required. Open the project in Unity and use the menu commands.
• The tool targets the Unity Editor only; no runtime components are required in player builds.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Suggested areas:

• New repository backends (e.g., cloud object stores)
• Preview generation and richer details view
• Bulk operations (batch import/update)
• CI helpers for validating repository integrity

Please open an issue to discuss significant changes before submitting a PR.

Roadmap (Ideas)

• Smarter duplicate detection and conflict resolution on submit
• Optional permissions/roles layer for HTTP backend
• Advanced search (e.g., AND/OR on tags, saved searches)

License

MIT License

Acknowledgements

• Unity and the Editor ecosystem
• Contributors and teams using this workflow

Todo

• Manage updates (with version increment)
• Edit description (increments version)
• Investigate automatic images/thumbnails
• Test in remote mode
• Fix async usage (performance)
• Add comments
• Auto-upload function for the database
• Function to check for model updates
• Filter by project name: add a project tag so only models for project "XXX" are visible; if opened from project "YYY" the model is not visible
• Add changelog to models
• Show model triangle/vertex counts
• Improve the browser by adding model images
• Notes system: a model's notes are shared across versions (and add a note on each new submission)
• Asset upload date
• Add the asset path (set a default if unspecified) with the ability to change it later
• Fixed asset location to the "resources" folder
• Ensure the relative path is not the Materials folder, e.g., "RelativePath": "Models/Benne/Materials"
• Validate changelogs thoroughly
• Ensure JSON files are not serialized (store elsewhere, e.g., Library)
• Detect if an object already exists in the database and prevent saving if so
• Issue with project tag: convert it into a normal tag
• Differentiate account roles: "artist" vs "dev"
• If a model has a note, show a notification in the tool
• Notify on model updates (Meta Quest-like notifications)
• Explore notifications without launching the tool
• Major performance issue (likely await/async)
• Create an image-only grid; clicking an image opens the current bundle description window (details view)
• First-run wizard not working
• For tags, ensure OrdinalIgnoreCase is used
• Investigate duplicate GUID error issues