Getting started

StreamBridge Documentation

StreamBridge is a live DCC-to-Unity sync plugin. Geometry, skinning, vertex colors, hierarchy, and transforms from Blender or 3ds Max appear in the Unity Editor as you edit — no manual export, no stale previews.

last updated 11 May 2026 · v1.0.1

What StreamBridge is — and isn't

StreamBridge consists of two parts: a Unity Editor package and a DCC plugin (Blender or 3ds Max). They open a persistent TCP connection and stream scene previews from your DCC into the Unity Editor.

What's actually streamed

Requirements

StreamBridge is pipeline-agnostic — synced objects use a standard MeshFilter + MeshRenderer, so the same workflow applies to all three pipelines.

How it works

StreamBridge uses a client-server model over TCP. Unity acts as the server; the DCC plugin is the client.

Unity

Unity package

The Unity package hosts the StreamBridge server and creates GameObjects from incoming data.

Install the package

StreamBridge window

The window has three areas: connection status, server settings, and a log. Click Start Server — Unity opens TCP 8190 on localhost and the status indicator turns yellow. When a DCC connects it turns green, and synced objects appear under a root GameObject (typically StreamBridge) mirroring the DCC hierarchy.

Live preview & export

Material slot routing

StreamBridge does not send PBR data. What it sends per submesh is the material name. Unity looks for a material asset with that name and assigns it to the slot. No match → the slot falls back to the Default Material on the StreamBridge Server GameObject. Name your DCC materials to match the Unity assets you've already authored; your URP / HDRP shader graphs stay intact.

Receiving DCC exports

A tagged export from the DCC ships the file over the same connection; Unity writes it into your project (default Assets/StreamBridge/) and reimports it. Take over that flow two ways:

[InitializeOnLoad]
static class StreamBridgeExportHook
{
    static StreamBridgeExportHook()
    {
        var server = Object.FindFirstObjectByType<StreamBridgeServer>();
        if (server == null) return;

        // fires after the file is written + AssetDatabase.ImportAsset()
        server.OnFileTransferReceived += (fileName, assetPath) =>
        {
            Debug.Log($"[StreamBridge] received {fileName} → {assetPath}");
            var asset = AssetDatabase.LoadAssetAtPath<GameObject>(assetPath);
            if (asset != null) PrefabUtility.InstantiatePrefab(asset);
        };
    }
}

[CreateAssetMenu(menuName = "StreamBridge/Buildings Import Handler")]
public class BuildingsImportHandler : StreamBridgeImportHandler
{
    // Tell StreamBridge where to save the incoming file.
    public override string GetTargetPath(string fileName, string objectName)
    {
        return $"Assets/Buildings/{objectName}/{fileName}";
    }

    // Called after the file has been written and reimported.
    public override void OnPostImport(string assetPath, string tag, string objectName)
    {
        var importer = AssetImporter.GetAtPath(assetPath) as ModelImporter;
        if (importer != null)
        {
            importer.importLights = false;
            importer.importCameras = false;
            importer.SaveAndReimport();
        }
        MyStudio.AssetPipeline.RegisterBuilding(assetPath, objectName);
    }
}

Settings reference

On the StreamBridge Server GameObject's Inspector (created by Window → StreamBridge → Create Server). The editor panel itself only shows status and Start/Stop/Clear. No pipeline-specific setup is needed — a default material is auto-generated using the best shader for your pipeline (URP Lit → HDRP Lit → Standard).

Blender

Blender add-on

Ships as a standard add-on for Blender 4.2+ through 5.0+ on Windows and macOS. Native Python modules for 3.11 / 3.12 / 3.13 are bundled — no extra Python install.

Install the add-on

The add-on is bundled with the Unity package — no separate download. The Unity-side installer copies it into Blender's user folder and picks the right native module automatically.

Panel settings

Workflow

What's synced from Blender

Limitations

3ds Max

3ds Max plugin

Mirrors the Blender feature set. Supports 3ds Max 2023+ on Windows (x64) only.

Install the plugin

Workflow

What's synced from 3ds Max

Limitations

Reference

Network setup

Same machine (default): no configuration. Host localhost, port 8190. The server binds to 127.0.0.1 only — not exposed to your network, safe by default. VPN / remote works the same way as LAN with the VPN-assigned IP.

Different machines (LAN)

Troubleshooting

Still stuck? Pop into the Discord first — most setup hiccups get sorted in a few messages. If that doesn't crack it, open a bug report with your Unity version, DCC version, OS, what you did, what happened, and the StreamBridge log contents.

FAQ

Changelog