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:
| User mentions | Route to |
|---|
| or files (including in ) | |
| "UI Toolkit", "UITK", "UIElements", "CreateGUI" | |
| Canvas prefabs/objects, with UI | |
| "uGUI", "Canvas", "RectTransform", "legacy UI" | |
| "IMGUI", "OnGUI", "OnInspectorGUI", "immediate mode" | |
| Figma URL (), "Figma", "import from Figma" | Not available — see below |
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 for new editor UI
- Only use 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:
| Look for | Indicates |
|---|
| or files (including in ) | UI Toolkit (runtime or editor) |
| components in scenes | UI Toolkit (runtime) |
| Editor scripts with method | UI Toolkit (editor) |
| in scenes/prefabs | uGUI |
| heavy usage | uGUI |
| Editor scripts with or | IMGUI (legacy editor) |
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 ()
- When the user mentions mobile/performance constraints or older Unity versions (pre-6.0): bias toward uGUI ()
Request Types
Specialized skills handle three types of requests:
| Type | Examples |
|---|
| Understanding | "What does this button do?", "How is this laid out?", "Explain this UI" |
| Editing | "Change this color", "Add a label here", "Fix this layout" |
| Generation | "Create a menu", "Make an inventory screen", "Build a settings panel" |
Route all types to the appropriate specialized skill based on the UI system.
Available Sub-Skills
UI Toolkit —
- For Unity 6.0+ projects using UI Toolkit (runtime game UI and editor tools)
- Understands, edits, and generates and files
- Modern, CSS-like styling approach
- Preferred for new editor windows (CreateGUI) and existing UI Toolkit projects
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 —
- 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.
| Type | Convention |
|---|
| Element names | Follow project patterns, or camelCase |
| File organization | Match existing project structure |
Workflow
- 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
- Activate specialized skill — Route to , , or
- 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 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