t1k:unity:rendering:probuilder

Field	Value
Module	`rendering`
Version	`3.1.7`
Effort	`medium`
Tools	—

Keywords: 3D modeling, level design, ProBuilder, unity

How to invoke

/t1k:unity:rendering:probuilder

Unity ProBuilder

Terminology

ProBuilderMesh — Component storing mesh data (positions, UVs, faces, colors)
Face — Defines face geometry with triangle indices, material, smoothing group
ShapeGenerator — Creates primitive shapes (cube, cylinder, sphere, etc.)

Skill Purpose

Reference for Unity ProBuilder 6.x (Unity 6). Covers programmatic mesh creation, shape generation, face/edge/vertex editing, material assignment, UV editing, and exporting to standard Unity meshes. Focused on editor scripting for level geometry and modular tile/obstacle creation.

Package: com.unity.probuilder 6.0.9 (Unity 6 compatible) Related skills: dots-ecs (ECS baking) · dots-graphics (ECS rendering)

When This Skill Triggers

Creating geometry with ProBuilder (shapes, tiles, obstacles, level pieces)
Using ShapeGenerator, ProBuilderMesh.Create(), ProBuilderMesh.CreateShapeFromPreset()
Editing faces, edges, vertices programmatically
Assigning materials per-face, vertex colors
Exporting ProBuilder meshes to standard Unity Mesh assets
Building modular level geometry (tiles, walls, floors)
Setting up UV editing, auto-UV, manual UV

Quick Reference

Task	Reference File
Programmatic mesh creation, ShapeGenerator, Face/Vertex	mesh-creation-guide.md
Material assignment, vertex colors, UV editing	materials-uvs-guide.md
Export to standard Mesh, stripping ProBuilderMesh	export-workflow-guide.md

Namespaces

using UnityEngine.ProBuilder;            // Runtime: ProBuilderMesh, Face, Vertex, math
using UnityEngine.ProBuilder.MeshOperations; // Runtime: topology, I/O, merge, subdivide
using UnityEditor.ProBuilder;            // Editor: menus, windows, toolbar extensions

Key Conventions

Core workflow — create or modify:

ProBuilderMesh.Create(positions, faces) or ShapeGenerator.CreateShape(ShapeType.Cube)
Modify vertices, faces, edges via ProBuilderMesh API
Call .ToMesh() to compile to UnityEngine.Mesh
Call .Refresh() to rebuild UVs, tangents, normals
In Editor: UnityEditor.ProBuilder.EditorMeshUtility.Optimize() for final optimization

Critical rules:

Modify ProBuilderMesh data, NOT MeshFilter.sharedMesh directly
Always call .ToMesh() then .Refresh() after any mesh modification
To strip ProBuilder dependency: export mesh via MeshUtility or save MeshFilter.sharedMesh as .asset
For flat shading: set smoothing group to 0 per face, or use unshared vertices
For level geometry: save as prefab after stripping ProBuilderMesh component

Common gotchas:

Issue	Fix
Mesh not updating after code changes	Call `.ToMesh()` then `.Refresh()`
ProBuilder dependency in runtime build	Strip ProBuilderMesh, save Mesh as .asset
Faces sharing smoothing = smooth normals	Set `face.smoothingGroup = 0` for flat shading
UV seams visible	Use `face.uv` auto-UV settings or manual UV unwrap
ShapeGenerator shape wrong size	Set `localScale` on transform after creation

Documentation

Gotchas

ProBuilder meshes are NOT static-batchable by default — flag manually or batching skips them.
ProBuilderize → Lightmap UVs requires explicit Generate — auto-bake skips ProBuilder geometry without uvs.
Boolean operations on complex meshes can produce non-manifold geometry — validate with mesh checker before merging.