Editor / Application / Set State

Control the Unity Editor application state. You can start, stop, or pause the 'playmode'. Use 'editor-application-get-state' tool to get the current state first.

Inputs

• isPlaying (default false) — sets EditorApplication.isPlaying.
• isPaused (default false) — sets EditorApplication.isPaused.

Behavior

Refuses any state change while EditorUtility.scriptCompilationFailed is true — instead throws with the compilation error details so the caller can fix them first. On success returns the post-change EditorStatsData snapshot.

How to Call

unity-mcp-cli run-tool editor-application-set-state --input '{
  "isPlaying": false,
  "isPaused": false
}'

For complex input (multi-line strings, code), save the JSON to a file and use:

unity-mcp-cli run-tool editor-application-set-state --input-file args.json

Or pipe via stdin (recommended):

unity-mcp-cli run-tool editor-application-set-state --input-file - <<'EOF'
{"param": "value"}
EOF

Troubleshooting

If unity-mcp-cli is not found, either install it globally (npm install -g unity-mcp-cli) or use npx unity-mcp-cli instead. Read the /unity-initial-setup skill for detailed installation instructions.

Input

Name	Type	Required	Description
isPlaying	boolean	No	If true, the 'playmode' will be started. If false, the 'playmode' will be stopped.
isPaused	boolean	No	If true, the 'playmode' will be paused. If false, the 'playmode' will be resumed.

Input JSON Schema

{
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "isPlaying": {
      "type": "boolean"
    },
    "isPaused": {
      "type": "boolean"
    }
  }
}

Output

Output JSON Schema

{
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "result": {
      "$ref": "#/$defs/AIGD.EditorStatsData",
      "description": "Available information about 'UnityEditor.EditorApplication'."
    }
  },
  "$defs": {
    "AIGD.EditorStatsData": {
      "type": "object",
      "properties": {
        "IsPlaying": {
          "type": "boolean",
          "description": "Whether the Editor is in Play mode."
        },
        "IsPaused": {
          "type": "boolean",
          "description": "Whether the Editor is paused."
        },
        "IsCompiling": {
          "type": "boolean",
          "description": "Is editor currently compiling scripts? (Read Only)"
        },
        "IsPlayingOrWillChangePlaymode": {
          "type": "boolean",
          "description": "Editor application state which is true only when the Editor is currently in or about to enter Play mode. (Read Only)"
        },
        "IsUpdating": {
          "type": "boolean",
          "description": "True if the Editor is currently refreshing the AssetDatabase. (Read Only)"
        },
        "ApplicationContentsPath": {
          "type": "string",
          "description": "Path to the Unity editor contents folder. (Read Only)"
        },
        "ApplicationPath": {
          "type": "string",
          "description": "Gets the path to the Unity Editor application. (Read Only)"
        },
        "TimeSinceStartup": {
          "type": "number",
          "description": "The time since the editor was started. (Read Only)"
        }
      },
      "required": [
        "IsPlaying",
        "IsPaused",
        "IsCompiling",
        "IsPlayingOrWillChangePlaymode",
        "IsUpdating",
        "TimeSinceStartup"
      ],
      "description": "Available information about 'UnityEditor.EditorApplication'."
    }
  },
  "required": [
    "result"
  ]
}