SatorImaging.UnityAnalyzers 1.6.0

Roslyn analyzers to ensure safe and correct code when developing with Unity.

• Async Method Analysis
  • SIUA001: Unreliable Unity object access
  • SIUA002: Await in safe block
• Static State Analysis
  • SIUA011: Static state survives across play modes
  • SIUA012: Missing state reset in RuntimeInitializeOnLoadMethod
  • SIUA013: Static property with body may return invalid static state
• Async Invocation Analysis
  • SIUA021: Async invocation detected
• Deprecated API Analysis
  • SIUA031: String-based Binding API
  • SIUA032: String-based property ID

Async Method Analysis

UnityAsyncMethodAnalyzer ensures safe usage of UnityEngine.Object (MonoBehaviour, ScriptableObject, etc.) within async methods.

It checks all async methods declared in any type, including standard C# classes, structs, and records (not just MonoBehaviour or Unity-specific types).

SIUA001: Unreliable Unity object access

Severity: Error

Accessing instance members (methods, properties, fields, events) of a Unity object inside an async method is potentially unsafe because the underlying native object might be destroyed while the managed wrapper still exists.

Rule: You must guard the access with a robust null check using if (obj != null).

Why it matches:

• Any instance member access on a UnityEngine.Object derivative.
• Usage of ?. operator (e.g., obj?.Prop) is considered unsafe because it bypasses Unity's custom equality check that handles lifetime validity.

Safe Pattern:

if (unityObject != null)
{
    unityObject.DoSomething(); // OK
}

Unsafe Pattern:

await Task.Yield();

unityObject.DoSomething(); // Error: SIUA001
unityObject?.DoSomething(); // Error: SIUA001 (?. is bypassed)

First Await Exception:

Unity object access before and within the first await expression is safe and will not trigger SIUA001.

// Safe: access before any await
unityObject.DoSomething();

// Safe: access within the first await expression
await unityObject.SomeAsyncMethod();

// Error: access after the first await completes
unityObject.DoSomethingElse(); // Error: SIUA001

This is because Unity objects cannot be destroyed before the async method yields control for the first time.

SIUA002: Await in safe block

Severity: Warning

Using await inside a "Safe Block" (an if (obj != null) block) invalidates the safety guarantee. When the async method resumes after the await, the Unity object may have been destroyed in the meantime.

Rule: Shall not use await inside a block guarded by a Unity object null check.

Unsafe Pattern:

if (unityObject != null)
{
    await Task.Delay(100);

    // unityObject might be destroyed here!
    unityObject.DoSomething(); 
}
// Warning: SIUA002 reported on 'await'

Correct Pattern: Check for null after the await if you need to access the object.

await Task.Delay(100);

if (unityObject != null)
{
    unityObject.DoSomething();
}

Common Analysis Behavior

The following rules and limitations apply to ALL diagnostics in UnityAsyncMethodAnalyzer.

Safe Block Definition (Strictness)

The analyzer is strict about what constitutes a "Safe Block".

• ALL conditions in the if statement must be Unity object null checks.
• If you combine a Unity check with ANY other condition (e.g., unityObj != null && someBool), the block is treated as UNSAFE.
• It typically only accepts if statements (not ternary ? :).
• The condition must be a direct inequality check against null (e.g., x != null) or composed of them using && (Logic AND).
• Complex conditions (e.g., ||, pattern matching is not null, or helper methods) may be misdetected (treated as unsafe blocks).

Limitation: No Data Flow Analysis

The analyzer does not verify that the checked variable matches the accessed/usage variable. It simply treats any block guarded by a valid Unity Object null check as "Safe".

Implication for SIUA001: It skips analysis for the block if any Unity Object check is detected, even if you access a different object.

// Valid (Analysis skipped)
// The analyzer considers the block "safe" because Unity object 'foo' is checked, 
// even though Unity object 'bar' is being accessed without a check.
if (foo != null) 
{
    bar.DoSomething(); // No Error (False negative)
}

Implication for SIUA002: It strictly enforces "No Await" inside the block, even if the check is unrelated to the awaited task.

// Warning (Strict enforcement)
if (foo != null) 
{
    await Task.Delay(10); // Warning: SIUA002
}

Limitation: Early Returns

The analyzer does not perform control flow analysis, so "Early Return" style checks are not recognized as creating a Safe Block.

Workaround: Invert the condition and use an else block (or put the code inside the if).

// Unsafe (Analysis does NOT support this)
if (unityObject == null) return;

unityObject.DoSomething(); // Error: SIUA001

// Safe (Using else block)
if (unityObject != null)
{
    unityObject.DoSomething(); // OK
}
else
{
    return;
}

This workaround applies to SIUA002 as well:

// Unsafe (SIUA002 triggers because await is INSIDE the if)
if (unityObject != null)
{
    unityObject.DoSomething();
    await DoFurtherAsync(); // Warning: SIUA002
}

// Safe (await is OUTSIDE the checked block)
if (unityObject != null)
{
    unityObject.DoSomething();
}
else
{
    return;
}

await DoFurtherAsync(); // OK

Async Invocation Analysis

AsyncInvocationAnalyzer detects untracked async execution sources that can escape explicit control flow.

SIUA021: Async invocation detected

Severity: Error

This rule reports an error for:

• await-less calling of a method that returns Task, Task<T>, ValueTask or ValueTask<T>.
  • e.g. AsyncMethod();, foo.BarAsync();
• Creating or assigning anonymous functions that are async or return a Task/ValueTask type.
  • e.g. Action a = async () => await Task.Delay(1);, Func<Task> f = () => Task.CompletedTask;
• Delegate or event-handler assignment from Task/ValueTask-returning method groups.
  • e.g. eventHandler += TaskReturningMethod;, handler = TaskReturningMethod;
• Method group references to Task/ValueTask-returning methods or watched API types.
  • e.g. var m = TaskReturningMethod;
• Field, property or event references on watched API types.
  • e.g. var p = synchronizationContext.Post;, var e = timer.Elapsed;
• Object creation of watched API types.
  • e.g. new System.Threading.Timer(_ => { });
• Method invocations on watched API types.
  • e.g. Task.Run(() => { });, ThreadPool.QueueUserWorkItem(_ => { });, Parallel.For(0, 10, _ => { });
• Watched threading/task APIs:
  • System.Threading.Tasks.Task
  • System.Threading.Thread
  • System.Threading.ThreadPool
  • System.Threading.Tasks.Parallel
  • System.Threading.SynchronizationContext
  • System.Threading.Timer
  • System.Threading.PeriodicTimer
  • System.Timers.Timer
  • System.Threading.Tasks.TaskCompletionSource
  • System.Threading.Tasks.TaskCompletionSource<T>

How to avoid SIUA021

To suppress SIUA021, wrap the async invocation with a static or instance method associated with a type named Promise (default name, configurable).

Static method:

public static class Promise
{
    public static void Execute(Func<Task> func) => _taskList.Add(func());
}

// SIUA021 is suppressed inside Promise.Execute()
Promise.Execute(() => Task.Run(() => { }));

Instance method:

public class Promise
{
    public void Execute(Func<Task> func) => _taskList.Add(func());
}

public void MyMethod(Promise promise)
{
    // SIUA021 is suppressed inside the argument of a 'Promise' type member
    promise.Execute(async () => await Task.Yield());
}

Promise Type Customization

You can customize the promise exception type name through .editorconfig:

[*.cs]
unity_analyzers_promise_type_name = MyCustomPromise  # Default: Promise

Use the exact key unity_analyzers_promise_type_name (plural analyzers).

The value is loaded once during analyzer startup and then cached for the analyzer lifetime (changes require restart/reload to apply).

Suppressing by Category

You can suppress all diagnostics in the AsyncPromise category through .editorconfig:

[*.cs]
dotnet_analyzer_diagnostic.category-AsyncPromise.severity = silent

Limitation: async void

async void has no awaitable handle (Task/ValueTask) and no completion/error propagation contract for callers, so call sites cannot reliably track or compose its execution.
For that reason, async void flows are technically not fully trackable by invocation-tracking patterns.

Deprecated API Analysis

UnityStringBindingAnalyzer detects the usage of old, string-based binding APIs that are less safe and harder to refactor than their strongly-typed or method-based alternatives.

SIUA031: String-based Binding API

Severity: Error

Using string-based binding APIs like StartCoroutine("MethodName") or Invoke("MethodName", 1f) is discouraged. These APIs rely on magic strings, making code refactoring difficult and prone to runtime errors if the method name changes or is misspelled.

Rule: Avoid using the string-based overloads of the following methods when a better alternative is available:

• StartCoroutine(string)
• StopCoroutine(string)
• Invoke(string, ...)
• InvokeRepeating(string, ...)
• CancelInvoke(string)
• IsInvoking(string)
• SendMessage(string, ...)
• SendMessageUpwards(string, ...)
• BroadcastMessage(string, ...)

Safe Pattern:

// Use method-based overloads or direct calls
StartCoroutine(MyRoutine());

Unsafe Pattern:

StartCoroutine("MyRoutine"); // Error: SIUA031
Invoke("MyMethod", 1f);      // Error: SIUA031
Invoke(nameof(MyMethod), 1f); // Error: SIUA031 (still string-based)

SIUA032: String-based property ID

Severity: Error

Using string-based property IDs in methods like Animator.SetTrigger or Material.SetColor is discouraged. These methods are often called in Update() and using strings leads to poor performance because Unity has to hash the string internally every time.

Rule: Avoid using string-based overloads of the following methods. Use Animator.StringToHash(string) or Shader.PropertyToID(string) once and store the resulting integer ID.

• Animator.SetTrigger, SetInteger, SetFloat, SetBool
• Material.SetVectorArray, SetVector, SetTextureScale, SetTextureOffset, SetTexture, SetPropertyLock, SetMatrixArray, SetMatrix, SetInteger, SetInt, SetFloatArray, SetFloat, SetConstantBuffer, SetColorArray, SetColor, SetBuffer

Proper Pattern:

private static readonly int JumpId = Animator.StringToHash("Jump");

void Jump()
{
    animator.SetTrigger(JumpId);
}

Discouraged Pattern:

animator.SetTrigger("Jump"); // Error: SIUA032

Static State Analysis

UnityStaticStateAnalyzer ensures that static state doesn't survive across play modes when Domain Reloading is disabled.

SIUA011: Static state survives across play modes

Severity: Error

Static fields and properties survive across play modes in Unity if Domain Reloading is disabled. This can lead to unexpected behavior where state from a previous session persists into the next one.

Rule: Static fields and properties should be reset when the project is loaded or entering play mode. This is typically done using a method marked with the [RuntimeInitializeOnLoadMethod] attribute.

Why it matches:

• Any static field (except const or readonly fields of immutable types like string, primitive types, or readonly struct).
• Any static property (except getter-only properties of immutable types).
• The class does NOT contain a static method marked with [RuntimeInitializeOnLoadMethod] or [RuntimeInitializeOnLoadMethodAttribute].

Safe Pattern:

public class MyService
{
    public static int Counter;

    [RuntimeInitializeOnLoadMethod(RuntimeInitializeLoadType.SubsystemRegistration)]
    static void Init()
    {
        Counter = 0;
    }
}

Unsafe Pattern:

public class MyService
{
    public static int Counter; // Error: SIUA011
}

SIUA012: Missing state reset in RuntimeInitializeOnLoadMethod

Severity: Error

Static fields, properties, and events that require a reset (see SIUA011) must be explicitly assigned a value within any method marked with the [RuntimeInitializeOnLoadMethod] attribute.

Rule: All mutable static state in the class must be reset via simple assignment (=) in the initialization method.

Unsafe Pattern:

public class MyService
{
    public static int Counter;
    public static string Status;

    [RuntimeInitializeOnLoadMethod]
    static void Init()
    {
        Counter = 0;
        // Status is NOT reset! -> Error: SIUA012 reported on 'Init'
    }
}

SIUA013: Static property with body may return invalid static state

Severity: Warning

Static properties with a getter body (not auto-implemented) may return invalid or stale static state when Domain Reloading is disabled.

Rule: Consider using an auto-implemented property instead. (e.g. static int Property { get; } = 0;)

Why it matches:

• Any static read-only property that is not auto-implemented (has a body or expression body).

Unsafe Pattern:

public class MyService
{
    // Warning: SIUA013
    public static int Counter => 123;
}

Safe Pattern:

public class MyService
{
    public static int Counter { get; } = 123;
}

<Project>

    
    <ItemGroup Condition=" $([System.String]::Copy('$(DefineConstants)').IndexOf('UNITY_5_6_OR_NEWER')) != -1 ">
        <PackageReference Include="SatorImaging.UnityAnalyzers" Version="*-*">
            <PrivateAssets>all</PrivateAssets>
            <IncludeAssets>runtime; build; native; contentfiles; analyzers</IncludeAssets>
        </PackageReference>
    </ItemGroup>

</Project>