Unity Material Skills

BATCH-FIRST: Use *_batch skills when operating on 2+ objects/materials.

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/scale - Texture tiling
•material_set_float/int/vector - Set properties
•material_set_keyword - Enable/disable shader keywords
•material_set_render_queue - Set render queue
•material_set_shader - Change shader
•material_get_properties/keywords - Query properties
•material_duplicate - Duplicate material

Skills

material_create / material_create_batch

Create new materials (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)
`savePath`	string	No	null	Save path (folder or full path)

python

# Single
unity_skills.call_skill("material_create", name="RedMetal", savePath="Assets/Materials")

# Batch
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 / material_assign_batch

Assign material to object's renderer.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`name`	string	No*	GameObject name
`instanceId`	int	No*	Instance ID
`path`	string	No*	Material asset path (for asset)
`materialPath`	string	Yes	Material to assign

python

# Single
unity_skills.call_skill("material_assign", name="Cube", materialPath="Assets/Materials/Red.mat")

# Batch
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 / material_set_colors_batch

Set material color with optional HDR intensity.

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
`name`	string	No*	GameObject name
`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)

python

# Single
unity_skills.call_skill("material_set_color", name="Cube", r=1, g=0, b=0)

# Batch
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 / material_set_emission_batch

Set emission color with auto-enable keyword.

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
`name`	string	No*	GameObject name
`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

python

# Single - glowing green
unity_skills.call_skill("material_set_emission",
    path="Assets/Materials/Glow.mat",
    r=0, g=1, b=0.5, intensity=3.0
)

# Batch
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
`path`	string	No*	Material asset path
`texturePath`	string	Yes	-	Texture asset path
`propertyName`	string	No	auto-detect	Texture property

material_set_float / material_set_int

Set numeric properties.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`name`	string	No*	GameObject name
`path`	string	No*	Material asset path
`propertyName`	string	Yes	Property name
`value`	float/int	Yes	Value

material_set_keyword

Enable/disable shader keywords.

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
`name`	string	No*	GameObject name
`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
`path`	string	No*	Material asset path

Returns: {colors, floats, vectors, textures, integers, keywords, renderQueue}

Example: Efficient Material Setup

python

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`

Best Practices

•Save materials as assets for reuse
•Use material instances (by name) for runtime changes
•Use material assets (by path) for persistent changes
•Check shader property names in Unity Inspector
•URP/HDRP have different property names than Standard