--- title: "Authored data assets" slug: /workflows/authored-data-assets/ markdown: /workflows/authored-data-assets.md section: authored tier: 2 summary: "ScriptableObjects, prefabs, variants, asset references and text serialization as the single source of truth." sources: ['https://docs.unity3d.com/6000.0/Documentation/Manual/class-ScriptableObject.html', 'https://docs.unity3d.com/6000.0/Documentation/Manual/PrefabVariants.html', 'https://docs.unity3d.com/Packages/com.unity.addressables@2.3/manual/AssetReferences.html', 'https://docs.unity3d.com/6000.0/Documentation/Manual/AssetMetadata.html', 'https://docs.unity3d.com/6000.0/Documentation/Manual/class-EditorManager.html', 'https://docs.unity3d.com/6000.0/Documentation/ScriptReference/Editor.html', 'https://docs.unity3d.com/6000.0/Documentation/ScriptReference/PropertyDrawer.html'] canonical: https://unityworkflowlibrary.dev/workflows/authored-data-assets/ read_first: /read-first.md --- > Read first, on every prompt: [non-destructive rules](/read-first.md). # Authored data assets > ScriptableObjects, prefabs, variants, asset references and text serialization as the single source of truth. This page is the storage half of an authored pipeline: where the data lives, how it references other data, and how it stays readable in version control. The editing half (inspectors, drawers, windows) follows below. ## ScriptableObjects hold the data - **DATA-IN-A-SCRIPTABLEOBJECT (HARD).** Tunable data that is not tied to one GameObject goes in a class derived from `ScriptableObject`, created as `.asset` files. Unity's Manual describes ScriptableObjects as assets that exist in the project independent of GameObjects, which you can drag or pick into fields in the Inspector, and whose main value is as a data store ([ScriptableObject data assets](https://docs.unity3d.com/6000.0/Documentation/Manual/class-ScriptableObject.html)). - **One instance per thing.** One `.asset` per enemy type, weapon, level config or wave table, so each one diffs, reviews and reverts on its own. A single giant asset that holds every item becomes one unreadable diff. - **Add the Create menu entry.** Put `[CreateAssetMenu]` on the class so a human can make a new instance from Assets > Create without an agent. The Manual's example uses exactly this attribute. - **Shared, not copied.** Prefabs reference the ScriptableObject instead of carrying their own copy of the numbers. The Manual notes that every prefab instance with data in a MonoBehaviour gets its own copy, while a ScriptableObject keeps one copy in memory that all of them reference. - **Writes from code are dirtied.** When an editor script changes a ScriptableObject in Edit mode, call `EditorUtility.SetDirty` on it. The Manual states Unity does not automatically save such changes and that without the call the value can revert when the Editor reopens. Inspector edits save on their own. - **Read-only in a player.** The Manual states a standalone player can only read saved ScriptableObject data. Save games and runtime state go elsewhere; the authored asset is never the place a build writes to. ## Prefabs and variants - **A thing that appears in a scene is a prefab.** Its components, children and serialized references are visible and editable in Prefab Mode, not assembled by a spawner script at runtime. - **Variants for families.** Use a Prefab Variant for "the same as X, but different" instead of a code path that patches values after spawning. Per the [Manual](https://docs.unity3d.com/6000.0/Documentation/Manual/PrefabVariants.html), a variant inherits from its base prefab, its overrides take precedence, any prefab (including another variant) can be a base, and the Inspector's Overrides dropdown lists every override with Revert All and Apply All. That list is the human-readable answer to "how does this enemy differ from the base one". - **Keep chains shallow.** Each level of variant adds a place an override can hide. Prefer a base plus one level of variants, and put shared tunables in a ScriptableObject both reference. ## References between assets - **Serialized references, not string lookups.** A field typed as the asset (`EnemyDefinition`, `GameObject`, `AudioClip`) is assigned by drag and drop and survives renames. A string path or a name looked up at runtime breaks silently when an asset moves, and nobody can see the link in the Inspector. - **Addressables for loaded-on-demand content.** When content must load at runtime rather than ship as a direct reference, use an `AssetReference` field. The Addressables documentation describes it as a type that references an Addressable asset and can be added as a field on a MonoBehaviour or ScriptableObject ([Asset references overview](https://docs.unity3d.com/Packages/com.unity.addressables@2.3/manual/AssetReferences.html)). The reference is still picked in the Inspector and stored in the asset. Whether a project uses Addressables at all is a stack decision the agent asks the user about, as with the other setup choices on the [Project setup](/workflows/new-unity-project/) page. ## Text serialization, GUIDs and meta files - **FORCE-TEXT-AND-VISIBLE-META (HARD).** Asset Serialization Mode stays Force Text. Per the [Editor project settings reference](https://docs.unity3d.com/6000.0/Documentation/Manual/class-EditorManager.html), Force Text converts all assets to text mode, including new ones, and is the default; the same page offers "Reduce version control noise", which writes references on one line. Check both when the project is set up. - **The `.meta` file is the asset's identity.** The [Asset metadata](https://docs.unity3d.com/6000.0/Documentation/Manual/AssetMetadata.html) page states that each asset gets a unique ID stored in its `.meta` file, alongside its import settings, and that if an asset loses its `.meta` file every reference to it breaks: materials lose textures and GameObjects lose script components. - **Commit every `.meta` with its asset.** Move and rename assets inside the Editor, which moves the `.meta` with them. A move done outside the Editor must move the `.meta` too. An agent that writes a new asset file from a script checks that its `.meta` exists and is committed in the same change. - **Never hand-edit a GUID.** Stable GUIDs are what lets references survive renames. Regenerating or copying a `.meta` to "fix" a reference makes two assets claim one identity or orphans every user of the old one. ## Making the data editable - **Default Inspector first.** Plain serialized fields with `[Range]`, `[Tooltip]` and `[Header]` often need no custom code at all. Write custom UI only where the default view is genuinely hard to use. - **Custom inspectors through SerializedObject.** For a custom `Editor`, edit through `serializedObject` and `SerializedProperty`. The [Editor](https://docs.unity3d.com/6000.0/Documentation/ScriptReference/Editor.html) reference states this automatically handles multi-object editing, undo and Prefab overrides, and that changing script variables directly gives none of these. - **Property drawers for repeated types.** A `[Serializable]` struct used in many places gets one [PropertyDrawer](https://docs.unity3d.com/6000.0/Documentation/ScriptReference/PropertyDrawer.html) so every appearance is readable. The reference notes that since 2022.2 the default Inspector uses UI Toolkit for custom property drawers, and an IMGUI `OnGUI` version may still be needed when the drawer is used from an IMGUI custom editor. - **Editor windows for whole catalogs.** When a human needs to see many assets at once (every item, every wave), an `EditorWindow` that lists and edits the real `.asset` files is the surface. It edits the assets; it does not keep a second copy of the data. See [Editor tooling](/workflows/editor-tooling/) for the rules every such window follows. ## Related - [Authored over generated](/workflows/authored-over-generated/): why this is the default. - [Assets and serialization](/workflows/assets-serialization/): write-order and save traps when code edits assets. - Next: [Importers and baking](/workflows/editable-importers-baking/).