ui-uitk

Understand existing Unity UI Toolkit code, make targeted edits, generate new UXML/USS files, Manipulators, and handle UI runtime binding.

References

Read these as needed:

• references/uss-guide.md — USS patterns and examples
• references/svg-icons.md — SVG icon generation (only when generating icons)
• references/common-issues.md — Common mistakes to avoid
• references/ui-runtime-binding.md — Patterns and guide to bind data to UI at runtime (only when requested or when bindings are involved)
• references/painter2d.md — Painter2D API for custom visuals: gradients, shapes, arcs, procedural drawing (read this whenever gradients, custom shapes, progress rings, procedural drawing, or any visual beyond what USS can express is needed)
• references/pointermanipulator-guide.md — Patterns and guide to create and use Manipulators (only when requested or when manipulators are involved). This helps with setting up drag and drop features or simple event handling for a Visual Element.
• references/custom-elements.md — Custom UI Element patterns and guide to create reusable components with UXML, USS, and C#. This helps with creating complex UI components for reuse across the project.

Paths are relative to this skill's folder — read references/uss-guide.md directly.

Understanding

When explaining UI structure, use this format:

[ElementType] name="elementName" class="class1 class2"
├── [ChildType] name="childName"
│   └── [GrandchildType]
└── [ChildType] class="another-class"

Editing

Common edit requests:

Request	Action
"Change button color"	Edit USS selector for that button
"Add a label here"	Add element to UXML at specified location
"Make this bigger"	Edit width/height in USS
"Hide this element"	Add display: none to USS or remove from UXML
"Rename this element"	Update name attribute in UXML

Don't over-edit:

• Change only what's requested
• Preserve formatting and structure
• Don't "improve" unrelated code
• Don't add comments unless asked
• For targeted changes, prefer modifying specific elements or selectors over rewriting entire files — but use judgment; if a change touches most of the file, a rewrite may be cleaner
• Be careful not to accidentally drop existing elements, styles, or references when making edits
• When editing USS, focus on the properties and selectors relevant to the request — avoid unnecessary reorganization, but restructure if the change genuinely requires it

Validation

There is no way to validate UXML or USS from outside the Editor — Unity parses these files on import and reports problems in the Console. Write the files, then have the user check the result.

Workflow:

1. Write the complete file to its target path in the project. Do not write partial or draft content — a half-written UXML file is a parse error the moment the Editor picks it up.
2. Ask the user to focus the Unity Editor. That triggers a reimport of the changed assets.
3. Ask them to report anything in the Console. UXML parse errors name the file and line; USS problems appear as warnings about unknown properties or selectors.
4. Fix what they report and repeat from step 1.

Because feedback costs a user round-trip, get it right the first time:

• Finish all files before asking the user to check, so one reimport covers everything rather than one per file.
• Re-read references/uss-guide.md and references/common-issues.md before writing, rather than after an error comes back.
• Watch for the mistakes that survive a parse but render wrong — those will not appear in the Console at all, so the user has to eyeball the UI. references/common-issues.md lists them.

Generation

When creating new UI:

Generate only what is requested:

Request	Output
USS only	.uss file only
UXML only	.uxml file only
UI screen / menu / panel	.uss + .uxml only
"with code" / "with logic" / "functional"	.uss + .uxml + .cs

These do NOT imply C#:

• "proper buttons" → well-styled Button elements
• "currency display" → a Label element
• "working UI" → valid UXML/USS that renders
• "inventory screen" → visual layout only
• "inventory system" / "equipment system" / "crafting system" → Ask: "Should items be draggable?" If yes, see references/pointermanipulator-guide.md for patterns

Generation workflow:

1. Analyze — Determine exactly what files are needed. No extras.
2. Search — Find existing USS, UXML, assets. Don't assume paths.
3. Follow project patterns — Match folder structure and naming conventions.
4. Reuse — Check for shared stylesheets. Reuse if appropriate.
5. Write USS first — Verify against restrictions below.
6. Write UXML — Reference the USS, verify structure.
7. Write the files out complete — never partial content; see Validation above for how errors come back and why one round of files beats several.
8. Scene setup — Assign PanelSettings if adding UI to scene.
9. Data binding — If requested, add C# script with runtime data binding patterns (see references/ui-runtime-binding.md). Generate the scriptable object asset if needed. Assign the asset to the UI element root in UXML or via datasource in C#.

Color, visibility, and specification rules:

• Ensure text is readable by default: When choosing colors, ensure text contrasts with its background — but respect intentional low-contrast uses (disabled states, placeholder text, decorative elements). When using design tokens, check that text and background variables provide adequate contrast.
• Honor exact values: User-specified hex colors, pixel dimensions, spacing — use exactly as given. Do not approximate or substitute.

Styling / Theme When styling UI or adjusting theme make sure to not only apply to the elements directly in the current UXML but also to the core elements of UI Toolkit which are composed of several child elements usually.

Conventions

Follow project patterns first. Search existing files before applying defaults.

Type	Convention	Good	Bad
name attribute	camelCase	submitButton	submit-button
class attribute / USS	kebab-case	.submit-button	.submitButton
File paths	Feature folders	Assets/UI/Inventory/	Assets/Scripts/UI/

Output format:

<ui:UXML>...</ui:UXML>

.class { ... }

USS Restrictions

Unity's USS is a subset of CSS. These properties do NOT exist — NEVER use them:

NEVER Use	Use Instead
border shorthand	border-width, border-color separately
gap	margin on children
z-index	DOM order or parent nesting
pointer-events	picking-mode UXML attribute
filter	Not supported
outline	border-* properties
box-shadow	Nested elements or background image
:first-child, :last-child, :nth-child	Explicit classes
[attribute] selectors	Explicit classes
transition-property: <value>	Omit entirely, or none/initial/inherit only
linear-gradient(), radial-gradient()	Custom VisualElement with Painter2D (see references/painter2d.md)

Inline styles: NEVER use style="..." in UXML. All styling in USS only.

External URLs: NEVER use url() with external paths. Only url("project://database/Assets/...").

Prefer flexible layouts over hardcoded sizes:

• Use flex-grow, flex-shrink, or % instead of fixed width/height values
• Let elements flow naturally and be constrained by their parent container
• Set explicit pixel sizes only on root containers or when a fixed size is truly required
• Child elements should adapt to available space rather than define their own dimensions

USS Brevity

• No default values (flex-direction: column is default)
• No default fonts
• No redundant constraints (width: 100px doesn't need min-width/max-width)
• No overlapping properties (flex: 1 already sets grow/shrink)
• Simplest selector that works
• Never duplicate selectors

UXML

Every file must:

1. Declare namespace: <ui:UXML xmlns:ui="UnityEngine.UIElements">
2. Link stylesheet(s): <ui:Style src="Screen.uss" />
3. Have exactly one top-level container
4. No style="..." attributes — use USS only

<ui:UXML xmlns:ui="UnityEngine.UIElements">
  <ui:Style src="Panel.uss" />
  <ui:VisualElement name="root" class="panel">
    <!-- content -->
  </ui:VisualElement>
</ui:UXML>

Events and Interactivity

• Use Pointer Manipulators for event handling and interactivity on a VisualElement (see references/pointermanipulator-guide.md)
• If drag and drop is requested then write a pointer Manipulator and attach it to the relevant Visual Element in UXML or via C#.
• For simple click events, you can use the clickable manipulator in UXML
• For more advanced interactions, create use more traditional event callbacks in C# and attach them to elements as needed

For inventory and crafting systems:

• When users request an "inventory system", "equipment system", or "crafting system", ask explicitly: "Should players be able to drag and drop items?"
• If yes, read references/pointermanipulator-guide.md for inventory/crafting-specific patterns
• If no or unclear, create static layout only

Assets

Do NOT reference UnityDefaultRuntimeTheme.tss or Unity's built-in theme icons.

Icon priority:

1. Reuse existing project icons
2. Generate SVG (see references/svg-icons.md)
3. Image generators (last resort)

Reference format:

background-image: url("project://database/Assets/UI/Textures/icon.png");

Scene Setup

PanelSettings is required — UI won't render without it.

1. Search for existing PanelSettings asset
2. If none, create generic: Assets/UI/PanelSettings.asset
3. Assign to UIDocument's Panel Settings field

Skip for Editor UI (EditorWindow, PropertyDrawer).

C# (Only When Requested)

• Style via USS classes (AddToClassList()) — never use element.style.* as inline styles have higher specificity than USS selectors, making them impossible to override via stylesheets, and add per-element memory overhead
• UITK uses TextCore text assets — use FontAsset, TextStyleSheet, and TextSettings, not their TextMeshPro equivalents (TMP_FontAsset, etc.)
• Place scripts in same folder as UXML/USS