Log In | Sign Up

Set Up Development Environment

This topic describes how to set up your development environment to build Oculus apps in Unity. It contains information about hardware and software requirements, setting up Oculus devices, and installing Unity Editor and other necessary tools.

Hardware Requirements

Oculus Device:

Minimum System Requirements:

  • 2.0+ GHz processor
  • 2 GB system RAM

The following requirements are applicable to both, Oculus Rift and Oculus Rift S, unless otherwise stated:

  • 8 GB or higher RAM
  • 1 USB 3.0 port
  • 2 USB 2.0 ports (Oculus Rift only)
  • Compatible HDMI 1.3 video output (Oculus Rift only)
  • Compatible DisplayPort or miniDisplayPort, included in the box (Oculus Rift S only)

For more information about detailed specifications, go to Oculus Rift and Oculus Rift S minimum requirements support page.

Software Requirements

Operating System (any one):

  • Windows 10 (64-bit versions only)
  • macOS Sierra 10.10 or higher (x86 only) (supported with limited features)

Development Software:

Set Up Oculus Device

  1. Download the Oculus companion app for Android or iPhone and set up user account.
  2. Go to settings in your app and select the type of Oculus device you want to pair from the list.
  3. Follow the on-screen instructions to pair the device and its controllers.
  4. Follow the in-VR instructions to complete the generic device settings.

For detailed setup instructions and troubleshooting, go to Getting started with your Oculus Quest support page.

  1. Download the Oculus companion app and set up user account.
  2. Go to Devices > Configure Rift > Full Setup.
  3. Follow the on-screen instructions to run the full setup.
  4. Follow the in-VR instructions to complete the generic device settings.

You need to connect Oculus Rift and Oculus Rift S to your computer over USB and display interfaces. For detailed setup instructions and troubleshooting, go to Getting started with your Oculus Rift and Getting started with Oculus Rift S support pages.

Install Unity Editor

Unity Editor versions, whether free or professional, support Windows and Android development. If you are just getting started as a Unity developer, we recommend spending time learning the basics with Unity’s documentation and tutorials.

The minimum supported Unity version for Oculus app development is 2018.4.x. We recommend using one of the following versions: 2019.4 LTS or 2020.1.

We have condensed Unity installation steps below. However, for detailed information about the Unity installation process, go to Installing Unity in Unity documentation.

To install Unity:

  1. Go to Unity Download page, click Download Unity Hub, and install it.
  2. On the Installs tab, click Add, select the Unity version from the list, and click Done.

Unity Hub is an installation assistant that makes the installation process easy. In addition to Unity, to build and run Android apps, you must install the Android Build Support module, Android Software Development Kit (SDK) and Native Development Kit (NDK), and OpenJDK. Unity 2019.x and higher versions let you install the necessary Android tools during the Unity installation.

  1. Go to Unity Download page, click Download Unity Hub, and install it.
  2. On the Installs tab, click Add, and select the Unity version from the list.
  3. In the Add modules to your install window, select Android Build Support and expand it, select Android SDK & NDK Tools and OpenJDK, and click Done. This is only available for Unity version 2019.x and higher. For Unity 2018.x and prior, go to Install Android Tools Manually.

In case, you’ve already installed Unity without Android support, you can still add Android tools from Unity to any existing Unity 2019.x versions.

  1. Open Unity Hub and click the Installs tab.
  2. Click the three dots next to the Unity 2019.x version and click Add Modules.
  3. In the Add Modules window, select Android Build Support and expand it, select Android SDK & NDK Tools and OpenJDK, and click Done.

Note: This option is only available for Unity 2019.x versions and if you’ve installed Unity through Unity Hub. Alternatively, you can install Android tools manually as described in the following section.

Install Android Tools Manually

If you’re using Unity 2018.x or prior, you need to install Android tools manually through Android Studio.

  1. Download and install Android Studio. Skip this step if you have it installed.
  2. Open Android Studio, from the menu, go to Tools > SDK Manager.
  3. Go to SDK Tools tab.

  4. Select Android SDK Tools from the list and click OK.

    Note: Android Studio 3.6 or later considers Android SDK Tools as obsolete. If you’re using either of these versions, first clear Hide Obsolete Packages from the bottom of the tab to show the Android SDK Tools option in the list.

  5. Select NDK (Side by side) and select Show Package Details from the bottom of the tab.

  6. In the expanded NDK (Side by side) list, select 16.1.4479499 version, clear any other versions selected, and click OK.

    Note: Unity supports Android NDK, Revision 16b only.

Create New Project

After you’ve installed Unity, create a fresh project to get started with the rest of the settings and app development.

  1. Open Unity Hub.
  2. Click Projects tab and click New. If you’ve installed multiple Unity versions, click the arrow next to New and select the Unity version that you want to use to create the project.
  3. Select 3D, enter project name and location, and click Create.

After you’ve created the project, Unity adds it to Unity Hub. To open an existing Unity project, open Unity Hub, and click the project name.

Map Android Tools in Unity

If you’re using Unity version 2019.x and later, Unity automatically maps Android SDK and NDK. However, if you’re using Unity version 2018.x and prior, the first time you build an Android project in Unity, you need to locate the Android SDK folder.

To map or change the location of the Android SDK in Unity:

  1. Open Android Studio to verify the Android SDK location through Tools > SDK Manager.
  2. Open Unity project or create a new one.
  3. From the menu, go to Unity > Preferences > External Tools.
  4. Under Android, in SDK, paste the Android SDK path. Alternatively, click Browse to locate the Android SDK folder. For example, /Users/username/Library/Android/sdk/.
  5. In NDK, paste the NDK folder path. Usually, NDK tools are downloaded inside the SDK folder. For example, /Users/username/Library/Android/sdk/ndk/.
More Questions? Check out our Unity Developer Forums!