--- title: Production Build Settings description: Configure Needle Engine production builds in Unity and Blender. Understand development vs production builds, use the Unity Build Window, preview compression, and configure the Compression & LOD Settings component. --- # Production Build Settings :::tip Optimization & Compression This guide is part of [Optimization & Compression](/docs/how-to-guides/optimization/). See also: [Texture Compression](/docs/how-to-guides/optimization/compress-textures), [Mesh Compression](/docs/how-to-guides/optimization/compress-meshes), [Progressive Loading & LODs](/docs/how-to-guides/optimization/progressive-loading-and-lods). ::: Configure how Needle Engine compresses and optimizes your project for production deployment. --- ## Understanding Build Types ### Development Builds Development builds are optimized for fast iteration during development: - **No texture compression** (KTX2) – faster build times - **No mesh compression** (Draco) – faster build times - **No progressive loading** – simpler debugging - **Larger file sizes** – not suitable for production **When to use:** During active development and testing. ### Production Builds Production builds are optimized for performance and file size: - **Texture compression** using KTX2 (ETC1S or UASTC) - **Mesh compression** using Draco or Meshopt - **Progressive texture loading** for faster initial load - **Automatic mesh LODs** for better performance - **Minimal file sizes** for fast loading **When to use:** For deployment to production websites. --- ## Unity Build Window Open **File → Needle Engine → Build Window**: ![Unity Build Window](/imgs/unity-build-window.webp "2x") **Available Options:** - **Build to Disk** – Create production build in the `dist` folder - **Preview Build** – Build and start a local server to preview the final result - **Development Build** – Disable compression for debugging (not recommended for production) ## Blender Build & Deployment In the **Viewport Sidebar → Needle Engine** tab, find the **Build & Deployment** section: ![Blender Build Options](/blender/build-options.webp "2x") - **Build: Development** – Export without compression (for debugging) - **Build: Production** – Full compression pipeline (texture compression, mesh compression, LOD generation) - **Deploy to Needle Cloud** – One-click deploy to Needle's hosting --- ## Preview Compression During Development Preview how your production output will look and perform without doing a full build. :::details Unity: Preview Compression toggle The `Needle Engine` component has a **Preview Compression** toggle at the bottom of its Inspector panel. When enabled, the full production compression pipeline runs automatically every time you export your scene during local development (e.g. when clicking Play or saving the scene with auto-export enabled). This applies the same compression and LOD generation as a production build — including texture compression (KTX2), mesh compression (Draco/Meshopt), and progressive loading LODs — directly to your local development server. You can also manually trigger compression steps from the context menu on the `Needle Engine` component under **Needle Engine → Compression** (e.g. Run Full Compression, Run Compression only, Run LODs Generator, or Clear Caches). ::: :::details Blender: Auto Compress toggle In the **Needle Engine Project Settings**, enable **Auto Compress** (next to "Export On Save"). When enabled, the production compression pipeline (texture compression, mesh compression, progressive LOD generation) runs automatically after each export — so you can preview production-quality output during local development. This option is off by default. ::: --- ## Compression and LOD Settings Component The **Compression and LOD Settings** component controls all compression and LOD generation settings for the export. It is located on the Needle Engine / ExportInfo object and lets you configure texture formats, mesh compression, LOD generation, and per-texture or per-mesh overrides. ![Unity Compression and LOD Settings](/imgs/unity-compression-and-lod-settings.webp "2x") :::tip Node.js is only required during development The distributed website (using our default Vite template) is a static page that doesn't rely on Node.js and can be hosted on any regular web server. Node.js is only required if you want to run our minimalistic networking server for multiplayer experiences. ::: --- ## Related Documentation - **[Texture Compression](/docs/how-to-guides/optimization/compress-textures)** — KTX2, ETC1S, UASTC & WebP, per-texture overrides - **[Mesh Compression](/docs/how-to-guides/optimization/compress-meshes)** — Draco & Meshopt compression - **[Progressive Loading & LODs](/docs/how-to-guides/optimization/progressive-loading-and-lods)** — Texture LODs, mesh LODs - **[Deployment Platforms](/docs/how-to-guides/deployment/)** — Deploy to Netlify, Vercel, GitHub Pages, and more