ui

Determine the appropriate UI system for the project and route to the correct specialized skill.

When to Route vs Answer Directly

Route to a specialized skill when:

• User wants to understand, edit, or generate specific UI elements
• User references specific files or UI objects
• User asks for UI changes or creation

Answer directly (without routing) when:

• User asks comparative/educational questions ("What's the difference between UI Toolkit and uGUI?")
• User asks about UI system capabilities or recommendations ("Should I use UITK or uGUI for mobile?")
• User needs conceptual explanation of Unity UI architecture

Routing Logic

Step 1: Check for explicit file references or keywords:

For editor-related requests (EditorWindow, custom inspector, PropertyDrawer):

• If no explicit UI system mentioned → Go to Step 2 to detect project's editor UI system
• If no existing pattern is detected, default to ui-uitk for new editor UI
• Only use ui-imgui if project exclusively uses IMGUI or user explicitly requests it

If explicit file or keywords found, activate the corresponding skill immediately.

Step 2: If ambiguous, detect from project:

Search the project to determine which UI system is in use:

Step 3: If still unclear, ask or default:

• For existing projects: detect and follow whichever framework is already in use (Step 2)
• For new projects with no UI yet: ask the user which framework they prefer (UI Toolkit vs uGUI), briefly explaining that UI Toolkit is modern/CSS-like while uGUI is Canvas-based/mature
• For new runtime/game UI where the user has no preference: default to uGUI (ui-ugui)
• When the user mentions mobile/performance constraints or older Unity versions (pre-6.0): bias toward uGUI (ui-ugui)

Request Types

Specialized skills handle three types of requests:

Route all types to the appropriate specialized skill based on the UI system.

Available Sub-Skills

UI Toolkit — ui-uitk

• For Unity 6.0+ projects using UI Toolkit (runtime game UI and editor tools)
• Understands, edits, and generates .uxml and .uss files
• Modern, CSS-like styling approach
• Preferred for new editor windows (CreateGUI) and existing UI Toolkit projects

uGUI — ui-ugui

• For projects using Unity's Canvas-based UI system
• Understands, edits, and generates Canvas hierarchies
• Uses Layout Groups for responsive design
• Default for new runtime/game UI when the user has no framework preference

IMGUI — ui-imgui

• For legacy editor tools using OnGUI/immediate mode
• Only use when project has existing IMGUI editor code or user explicitly requests IMGUI
• Understands, edits, and generates EditorWindow, inspectors, PropertyDrawers built with OnGUI
• Not for runtime game UI — for new editor tools, use UI Toolkit unless the project already uses IMGUI exclusively

Figma design import — not available here

Importing a Figma design requires Unity's Figma integration service, which only exists inside Unity AI Assistant. There is no client-side equivalent, so do not promise it.

If the user brings a Figma URL, say the automated import is not available here and offer the alternative: ask them to describe or screenshot the screen, then build it with the appropriate framework skill above.

Common Guidelines (All UI Systems)

Scope Discipline

Do only what is requested:

• Question → answer without making changes
• Targeted edit → modify only what's specified
• Generation → create only requested files
• Don't proactively add scripts unless explicitly asked

These do NOT imply scripts:

• "proper buttons" → well-styled buttons
• "working UI" → valid UI that renders
• "menu screen" → visual layout only

Conventions

Follow project patterns first. Search existing files before applying defaults.

Workflow

1. Determine UI system — Use routing logic above
   • For Figma requests, tell the user the automated import is not available here, then work from their description or screenshot and continue with framework detection
2. Activate specialized skill — Route to ui-uitk, ui-ugui, or ui-imgui
3. Skill handles request — Understanding, editing, or generation as appropriate

Handling Mixed Projects

Many Unity projects use multiple UI systems simultaneously (e.g., UI Toolkit for runtime game UI plus editor tools). When you detect multiple systems:

• For runtime UI requests (menus, HUDs, game screens) → Route to whichever runtime system (UITK or uGUI) is already in use
• For editor tool requests (custom inspectors, editor windows):
  • Prefer UI Toolkit (CreateGUI) for new editor UI — it's the modern approach
  • Only use IMGUI if the project's existing editor tools use IMGUI exclusively, or user explicitly requests IMGUI
  • Check for existing editor .uxml files to confirm UITK usage
• If creating new runtime UI in a mixed project → Match the pattern used by similar existing UI; if there is no similar existing UI and the user has no preference, use uGUI