Needle Engine for Unity

Create highly interactive, flexible, and lightweight web applications right inside Unity.

What you can do:

• Use Unity's powerful editor tools for 3D scenes, animation, and design
• Export scenes to optimized glTF format automatically
• Write TypeScript code that appears as C# components in Unity
• Integrate seamlessly with any web frontend framework
• Deploy anywhere on the web with hot reload support

Install the Unity Package

Installation steps:

1. Drop the downloaded .unitypackage file into a Unity project and confirm that you want to import it

2. Wait a moment for the installation and import to finish. A window may open stating that "A new scoped registry is now available in the Package Manager." This is our Needle Package registry. You can safely close that window

3. Explore Samples Select the menu option Needle Engine > Explore Samples to view, open and modify all available sample scenes

Quick Start Video

Getting Started

Choose how you want to start your first project:

🎨 Start from a Sample (Recommended)

Browse 100+ samples online or install them in Unity via Needle Engine > Explore Samples.

Perfect for: Learning features, exploring capabilities, getting inspired

Browse Samples →

🚀 Start from a Scene Template

Create a new scene from a Needle Engine template via File > New Scene.

Perfect for: Quick prototypes, starting fresh projects

⚙️ Manual Setup

Add a Needle Engine component to your scene and configure your web project manually.

Perfect for: Understanding the workflow, full control

Ready to build?

→ Complete Getting Started Tutorial - Step-by-step guide for your first project

Key Features

TypeScript Components with C# Stubs

Write TypeScript code in your web project that automatically appears as components in Unity:

import { Behaviour, serializable } from "@needle-tools/engine";

export class MyComponent extends Behaviour {
  @serializable()
  speed: number = 5;

  update() {
    this.gameObject.position.x += this.speed * this.context.time.deltaTime;
  }
}

The component appears in Unity's Add Component menu with editable fields in the Inspector.

Learn more: For Unity Developers →

Hot Reload & Editor Sync

Make changes in Unity or your code editor and see them instantly in the browser:

• Scene changes update automatically on save
• TypeScript changes hot-reload without page refresh
• Material properties sync live with EditorSync component

Learn more: Editor Sync →

NPM Integration

Share code across projects with NPM Definitions (NpmDef):

• Create reusable component packages
• Version control your code
• Share across multiple Unity and web projects

Learn more: Getting Started Tutorial →

Learning Resources

Tutorials (Learning-Oriented)

• Getting Started with Unity - Your first project step-by-step (~20 min)
• For Unity Developers - Complete learning path for Unity devs
• TypeScript Essentials - JavaScript/TypeScript basics (~20 min)

How-To Guides (Problem-Oriented)

• Export Assets - Control what gets exported
• Create Components - Write interactive components
• Deploy Your Project - Publish to the web

Explanation (Understanding-Oriented)

• Unity Integration Concepts - How Unity and Needle Engine work together
• Features Overview - Platform compatibility and features
• Technical Overview - Architecture and design

Reference (Information-Oriented)

• Component Reference - All built-in components
• API Documentation - Complete TypeScript API
• FAQ - Common questions and troubleshooting

Troubleshooting

Common issues:

See full troubleshooting guide →

Community & Support

• Discord - Live community chat and support
• Forum - In-depth discussions and examples
• Samples - 100+ interactive examples
• Showcase - See what others have built
• GitHub - Report issues and contribute

What's Next?

1. Start building: Follow the Getting Started Tutorial
2. Learn the workflow: Read Unity Integration Concepts
3. Master scripting: Complete For Unity Developers learning path
4. Get inspired: Browse Samples and Showcase