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🧰 Zion Tools

Unity Editor Asset Tools

Overview Zion Scene Backup Zion Save Inspector
Overview Installation Quick Start Concepts Window Reference Editing Tree Search Save Diff Schema & Reports Built-in Providers PlayerPrefs Custom Source Custom Format Tutorial API Surface Save Safety Troubleshooting

Concepts

The inspector is built around two interfaces, plus one optional capability interface added in 1.1. Understanding the split makes everything else obvious.

Source - ISaveSource

Where saves come from. Each source knows how to enumerate, read, write, and delete its own saves. Examples:

  • A folder of files on disk (PersistentFileSource, built-in)
  • PlayerPrefs keys (PlayerPrefsSource, built-in)
  • ScriptableObject snapshots in your project
  • A cloud save backend
  • An in-memory test fixture

A source returns SaveEntry handles - lightweight pointers, not the data. The window only loads the payload when you click an entry.

Format - ISaveFormat

How to interpret a payload. Each format claims whether it can parse a given payload, parses bytes into an editable tree, and serializes the tree back. Examples:

  • JSON (JsonSaveFormat, built-in)
  • Raw text fallback (RawTextFormat, built-in)
  • Binary protocols (MessagePack, Protobuf, your own format)

The split lets one source feed many formats - the same folder might hold JSON, binary, and plain-text saves, and the inspector auto-detects each.

Backup - ISaveBackupProvider 1.1

An optional capability a source can add on top of ISaveSource. A source that implements it can hand the inspector the previous payload of any entry, which powers the Compare > With Backup action. Both built-in sources implement it; custom sources opt in with a single method - see Custom Source.

Entry - SaveEntry

One save's metadata: display name, identifier, size, last-modified date. The Identifier is opaque - the source decides what it means (file path, PlayerPrefs key, asset GUID, etc.).

Node - SaveNode

An editable tree value. Six kinds: Object, Array, String, Number, Boolean, Null. The format produces a tree of these; the window renders foldouts and inline editors; the format serializes the tree back to bytes when you hit Save. Diff, schema validation, search and clipboard all operate on this tree - which is why they work with every format, built-in or custom.

Auto-discovery

Both registries (SaveSourceRegistry, SaveFormatRegistry) scan every loaded assembly for concrete types implementing the interfaces with a public parameterless constructor. You never register anything manually - just drop a class in an editor assembly and it appears in the dropdown after the next domain reload. ISaveBackupProvider is not discovered separately - it is detected on the current source when you open the Compare menu.

If a custom type fails to instantiate, the inspector logs a warning and skips it without breaking the rest of the window.
Continue to Window Reference.