Licensing

A Spine license is Installation

As a prerequisite, you must have a working Unity project to which you can add the spine-unity runtime.

1. Download and install Via Unitypackage

   You can install the spine-unity runtime into your Assets folder via the spine-unity unitypackage.

   1. Download the Via Git

      Alternatively to installing from the unitypackage, you can get the latest changes via Git as described below.

      1. Clone the Via Unity Package Manager

         Alternatively, you can install and update the spine-unity runtime via the Unity Package Manager.

         If your Unity version is rather recent and your Unity Package Manager provides the Add package from git URL... option, you can directly add the three packages with these URLs:

         1. https://github.com/EsotericSoftware/spine-runtimes.git?path=spine-csharp/src#4.2
         2. https://github.com/EsotericSoftware/spine-runtimes.git?path=spine-unity/Assets/Spine#4.2
         3. https://github.com/EsotericSoftware/spine-runtimes.git?path=spine-unity/Assets/Spine Examples#4.2

         The latest Unity Package Manager URLs are also available on the Details

         Open the Package Manager in Unity (via Window > Package Manager). For each of the three packages, select the + icon, choose Add package from git URL..., and enter the git URL above (or from the Optional Extension UPM Packages

         The spine-unity runtime works without additional plugins. Some optional features, such as Timeline or Universal Render Pipeline (URP) support, are provided via separate Unity Package Manager (UPM) extension packages.

         Why separate extension packages

         Unity has moved many of their optional modules to the new Unity Package Manager (UPM) ecosystem. For example, their Universal Render Pipeline base shader files are also provided as a UPM package under the name Universal RP and not part of every new Unity project out of the box.

         Including our Universal RP Spine shaders in the spine-unity runtime would lead to confusing error messages and additional configuration steps in case Unity's Universal RP package has not been installed in a project. By providing our Universal RP Spine shaders as a UPM package, such dependencies are automatically resolved, making it easier to use this additional functionality.

         Installation

         There are two options on installing extension UPM packages:

         • A - Download the UPM package
           1. Download the desired UPM package via the B - Add package from git URL

              If your Unity version is rather recent and your Unity Package Manager provides the Add package from git URL... option, you can also directly use the git URL.

              Important Note: When installing the URP Shaders UPM package from git URL, it is required that you also have the spine-csharp and spine-unity packages installed via the Unity Package Manager, and not from a unitypackage to the Assets folder. Otherwise URP Shaders UPM package shader include paths point to a spine-unity package directory which does not exist, leading to shader compile errors.

              1. Find the git URL for your UPM package on the Samples

                 To explore the spine-unity runtime example scenes:

                 1. Download and install Updating the spine-unity Runtime

                    Upgrade Guide

                    Before updating your project' spine-unity runtime, please consult our Update via Unitypackage

                    1. Get the latest spine-unity runtime by downloading the Update via Git
                       1. Get the latest spine-unity runtime by pulling the latest changes from the Update via Unity Package Manager

                          If you have added the spine-unity runtime as packages from a remote git URL via Add package from git URL you can use the Unity Package Manager to update the packages.

                          Open the Package Manager in Unity (via Window > Package Manager), select each of the packages

                          • spine-csharp Runtime
                          • spine-unity Runtime
                          • spine-unity Runtime Examples

                          and hit the Update button to re-download the latest version of the specified branch from git.

                          Note that if your URL has the ending #4.2 as in https://github.com/EsotericSoftware/spine-runtimes.git?path=spine-csharp/src#4.2, it will re-download the latest version from the 4.2 branch of the git repository.

                          Updating an Extension UPM Package

                          When upgrading an A - In-place Update

                          1. If you have your Unity project open, it is recommended to either a) close Unity or b) close any scene containing Spine components (e.g. by opening a new empty scene).
                          2. Copy the content of the new UPM package zip file or git directory over the existing one. Depending on how you have installed the UPM package, this will be either the project_root/Packages/package_name directory in your project or the arbitrary directory outside the Assets directory from where you have loaded it via Add package from disk...
                          3. If you have closed Unity, open your project again in Unity.
                          4. Unity will import the new assets and display a loading progress bar.

                          B - Add package from git URL

                          If you have added the package from a remote git URL via Add package from git URL you can use the Unity Package Manager to update the package. Open the Package Manager in Unity (via Window > Package Manager), select the package that you want to update and hit the Update button to re-download the latest version from the specified branch from git. Note that if your URL has the ending #4.2 as in https://github.com/.../Modules/com.esotericsoftware.spine.timeline#4.2, it will re-download the latest version from the 4.2 branch of the git repository.

                          Next: Examples