Table of Contents

Developer Console Sample

Samples~/Console/ is a drop-in runtime developer console: import the sample, hit the toggle key, and you have a live log viewer + command line in any scene without writing any code.

What You Get (Zero Setup)

  • Captures Debug.Log / LogWarning / LogError / exceptions automatically
  • Auto-bootstrapped before the first scene loads (no GameObject to drag in)
  • Toggle with ` (backtick) by default
  • Built-in commands: help, clear, quit, echo, version, fps, scene, time_scale, target_fps, sysinfo, pause, resume, gc, log_warning, log_error, log_exception
  • Command history (Up/Down arrows), scrollback, log timestamps

Boot Flow

sequenceDiagram
    participant U as Unity
    participant RC as RatatuiConsole
    participant LC as ConsoleLogCapture
    participant R as Renderer

    U->>RC: BeforeSceneLoad
    RC->>RC: Bootstrap()
    RC->>LC: Install() (subscribes to logMessageReceivedThreaded)
    RC->>RC: BuiltinCommands.Register()
    RC->>U: new GameObject("[RatatuiConsole]") + DontDestroyOnLoad
    RC->>R: AddComponent<RatatuiConsoleRenderer>
    Note over R: Idle until toggle key pressed

The whole pipeline is [RuntimeInitializeOnLoadMethod(BeforeSceneLoad)] — no GameObject to add manually.

Pieces

File Role
RatatuiConsole.cs Public facade: Open/Close/Toggle, RegisterCommand, Log, ClearLogs, accessors
RatatuiConsoleConfig.cs ScriptableObject for dimensions, font size, toggle key, buffer sizes, colors
RatatuiConsoleRenderer.cs The RatatuiRenderer that paints the log + prompt and handles input
ConsoleLogCapture.cs Hooks Application.logMessageReceivedThreaded, owns the log ring buffer
ConsoleCommandRegistry.cs Dictionary of registered commands, plus parser (Parse(raw, out name, out args))
ConsoleHistory.cs Command-line history (up/down recall)
BuiltinCommands.cs Registration of the built-in commands listed above
Resources/RatatuiConsoleConfig.asset Default config asset loaded at boot

Usage from Game Code

Toggle / state

using RatatuiUnity.Samples.Console;

RatatuiConsole.Toggle();              // open or close
RatatuiConsole.Open();
RatatuiConsole.Close();
bool open = RatatuiConsole.IsOpen;

Register a custom command

RatatuiConsole.RegisterCommand("spawn", "Spawn N enemies. Usage: spawn 10",
    args =>
    {
        if (args.Length == 0 || !int.TryParse(args[0], out int n))
        {
            Debug.LogWarning("Usage: spawn <count>");
            return;
        }
        for (int i = 0; i < n; i++) EnemySpawner.Spawn();
    });

Anything sent to Debug.Log from inside a command shows up in the console output.

Push a message directly

RatatuiConsole.Log("Player connected: " + playerId);

Execute a command programmatically

RatatuiConsole.ExecuteCommand("time_scale 0.5");

Configuration

Either edit Samples~/Console/Resources/RatatuiConsoleConfig.asset after import, or create your own via Assets → Create → Ratatui → Console Config and drop it under any Resources/ folder named exactly RatatuiConsoleConfig.

Knobs:

Field Default Purpose
cols, rows 120 × 32 Terminal grid
fontSize 14 px Glyph size in pixels
displayMode Window Full stretches to screen, Partial uses native pixel size, Window is a draggable frame whose title bar shows the host GameObject name
windowStartMaximized true When displayMode is Window, maximize on first open
horizontalAlign / verticalAlign Center / Top Placement in Partial mode
backgroundColor #121221 Terminal background
toggleKey ` (BackQuote) Open/close key
maxLogEntries 2000 Log ring buffer size
maxHistoryEntries 64 Command history size
showTimestamp true Prefix each line with [HH:mm:ss]

Caveat: Input System

The renderer uses UnityEngine.Input (legacy). If your project has Player Settings → Active Input Handling = "Input System Package (New)", the console will log a warning at boot and refuse to start. Set it to "Both" or "Input Manager (Old)" to use this sample as-is.

Extending

To replace just the renderer (custom layout, different keybinds) while keeping the log capture + command registry: implement your own MonoBehaviour : RatatuiRenderer and use RatatuiConsole.Logs, RatatuiConsole.Registry, RatatuiConsole.History as data sources. The facade stays — only the visual layer changes.

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