Additional Unity installation options

Rather than downloading a large .zip file containing all .unitypackage files for both .NET 3.X and .NET 4.X, you can download individual packages from the Google APIs for Unity site.

The site provides:

  • Individual .NET 4.X .unitypackage files to import as Asset packages.
  • Individual .tgz archives to import using Unity Package Manager.

This is especially useful when your app uses a single Firebase product, since the individual .unitypackage files contain all needed dependencies, and the .tgz files are listed alongside related .tgz files on which they depend.

This page provides instructions involving Unity Package Manager, so it's a good idea to learn about the tool from the Unity documentation.

Import Firebase packages as Assets

When importing Firebase products from .unitypackage files downloaded from Google APIs for Unity site, keep the following in mind:

  • If you are using multiple Firebase products in your project, you must download and upgrade all Firebase products to the same version.

  • Do not mix import methods in one project. That is, do not import Firebase products with the Asset package flow and using the Unity Package Manager flow.

After downloading, to import:

  1. In your open Unity project, navigate to Assets > Import Package > Custom Package.

  2. In the Import Unity Package window, click Import.

Import Firebase packages using Unity Package Manager

When importing Firebase products from .tgz files downloaded from the Google APIs for Unity archive, keep the following in mind:

  • This method is only available in 2018.3+.

  • If you are using multiple Firebase products in your project, you must download and upgrade all Firebase products to the same version.

  • Do not mix import methods in one project. That is, do not import Firebase products with the Asset package flow and with the Unity Package Manager flow.

  • Dependencies for each product .tgz file are linked alongside in their own .tgz files. You must download and import the product .tgz file and dependency .tgz files, in the correct order:

    1. External Dependency Manager (com.google.external-dependency-manager)
    2. Firebase Core (com.google.firebase.app)
    3. Firebase products used in your project. If you use Realtime Database or Cloud Storage, import Authentication (com.google.firebase.auth) first.

After downloading, import .tgz files into your project using one of the following methods:

Package Manager UI

  1. Open Unity's Package Manager window.
  2. Click the + icon in the top-left corner of the Package Manager window and select Add package from tarball to open the file browser.
  3. Select the desired tarball in the file browser.

Some older versions of Unity 2019 do not support adding tarballs directly. In this case, you will need to:

  1. Unzip the .tgz file.
  2. Click the + icon in the top-left corner of the Package Manager window and select Add package from disk to open the file browser.
  3. Select the extracted folder in the file browser.

manifest.json

  1. Create a new folder next to your project's Packages folder and name it GooglePackages.
  2. Place the .tgz files into that folder.
  3. Use a text editor to open Packages/manifest.json under your Unity project folder.

  4. Add an entry for each package you want to import, mapping the package name to the location on disk. Be sure to append file: to the .tgz file path. For example, if you were importing com.google.firebase.storage and its dependency's, your manifest.json would look like this:

    {
  "dependencies": {
    "com.google.external-dependency-manager": "file:../GooglePackages/com.google.external-dependency-manager-1.2.164.tgz",
    "com.google.firebase.app": "file:../GooglePackages/com.google.firebase.app-7.1.0.tgz",
    "com.google.firebase.auth": "file:../GooglePackages/com.google.firebase.auth-7.1.0.tgz",
    "com.google.firebase.storage": "file:../GooglePackages/com.google.firebase.storage-7.1.0.tgz",
    // com.unity package entries...
  }
}

  5. Save the manifest.json file.

  6. When Unity regains focus it will reload the manifest.json and import the newly-added packages.

Some older versions of Unity do not support .tgz files in the manifest.json. In this case, you should:

  1. Unzip the .tgz file.

  2. Edit your manifest.json to use the path to the extracted folder, instead of the .tgz file, like so:

    {
  "dependencies": {
    "com.google.external-dependency-manager": "file:../GooglePackages/com.google.external-dependency-manager-1.2.164",
    "com.google.firebase.app": "file:../GooglePackages/com.google.firebase.app-7.1.0",
    "com.google.firebase.auth": "file:../GooglePackages/com.google.firebase.auth-7.1.0",
    "com.google.firebase.storage": "file:../GooglePackages/com.google.firebase.storage-7.1.0",
    // com.unity package entries...
  }
}

Migrate from Unity Package Manager to Asset packages

In some cases, you might want to switch from using Unity Package Manager to track Firebase products, to importing products under the Assets folder.

If you're not sure which import method you're using, in your Unity project folder, open the file Packages/manifest.json. If the file contains entries starting with com.google.firebase, your project used Unity Package Manager for import.

To migrate to Asset packages:

  1. Note current Firebase package versions in your project and remove them.

    1. From the Window menu, select Package Manager. In the Package Manager window, make sure "Packages: In Project" is selected.
    2. Note the versions of imported Firebase packages.
    3. Click on each package name, then click Remove. Be sure to remove the External Dependency Manager package (.com.google.external-dependency-manager) as well as Firebase packages.

  2. Download and import replacement .unitypackage files. You have two options:

    • If you can upgrade to the latest version of each package, download the Firebase Unity SDK zip file and import as described in Add Firebase to your Unity project.
    • If you need to preserve current .unitypackage versions, you can download and import individual packages as described above on this page.

Migrate from Asset packages to Unity Package Manager

In some cases, you might want to switch from importing products under the Assets folder to importing and tracking products with Unity Package Manager.

If you're not sure which import method you're using, in your Unity project folder, open the file Packages/manifest.json. If the file contains entries starting with com.google.firebase your project is already using Unity Package Manager for import.

To migrate to Unity Package Manager:

  1. Make sure all Firebase packages and the External Dependency Manager package are removed from the Assets folder, using either of the following methods.

    EDM4U UI

    1. In your open Unity project, navigate to Assets > External Dependency Manager > Version Handler > Uninstall Managed Packages.
    2. Select all Firebase packages and External Dependency Manager.
    3. Click Uninstall Selected Package.

    Manual removal

    Using file system tools, manually delete the following folders:

    • Assets/Editor Default Resources/Firebase
    • Assets/ExternalDependencyManager
    • Assets/Firebase
    • Assets/Parse
    • Assets/Plugins/iOS/Firebase

  2. Import packages using Unity Package Manager, as described above on this page.