⚠️ Experimental: This command may not work as expected in all cases.
The find-refs command traces reference chains leading to specific objects. Use it to understand why an asset was included (and potentially duplicated) in a build.
UnityDataTool find-refs <database> [options]
| Option | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
<database> |
Path to database from analyze command |
(required) |
-i, --object-id <id> |
ID of object to analyze (from id column) |
— |
-n, --object-name <name> |
Name of objects to analyze | — |
-t, --object-type <type> |
Type filter when using -n |
— |
-o, --output-file <file> |
Output filename | — |
-a, --find-all |
Find all chains instead of stopping at first | false |
Note: Either
--object-idor--object-namemust be provided.
This command requires a database created by the analyze command without the --skip-references option.
Find references to an object by name and type:
UnityDataTool find-refs my_database.db -n "MyTexture" -t "Texture2D" -o refs.txtFind references to a specific object by ID:
UnityDataTool find-refs my_database.db -i 12345 -o refs.txtFind all duplicate references (useful for finding why an asset is duplicated):
UnityDataTool find-refs my_database.db -n "SharedMaterial" -t "Material" -a -o all_refs.txt| Scenario | Approach |
|---|---|
| Why is this asset included? | Use -n with the asset name |
| Why is this asset duplicated? | Use -n to find all instances (same name, different IDs) |
| Trace specific object | Use -i with the object ID from the database |
| Find all reference chains | Add -a flag (may take longer) |
The output shows the reference chain from root assets to your target object:
Reference chains to
ID: 1234
Type: Transform
AssetBundle: asset_bundle_name
SerializedFile: CAB-353837edf22eb1c4d651c39d27a233b7
Found reference in:
MyPrefab.prefab
(AssetBundle = MyAssetBundle; SerializedFile = CAB-353837edf22eb1c4d651c39d27a233b7)
GameObject (id=1348) MyPrefab
↓ m_Component.Array[0].component
RectTransform (id=721) [Component of MyPrefab (id=1348)]
↓ m_Children.Array[9]
RectTransform (id=1285) [Component of MyButton (id=1284)]
↓ m_GameObject
GameObject (id=1284) MyButton
...
Transform (id=1234) [Component of MyButtonEffectLayer (1) (id=938)]
Analyzed 266 object(s).
Found 1 reference chain(s).
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
↓ property_name |
The property containing the reference |
[Component of X (id=Y)] |
Shows the GameObject for Components |
[Script = X] |
Shows the script name for MonoBehaviours |
Refer to the ReferenceFinder documentation for more details.