Unity Project .gitattributes with Merge Settings

Unity and Git

Unity projects are notoriously challenging with Git because Unity serializes scene files, prefabs, and other assets as YAML. These files look like text but have a structure that standard merge algorithms handle poorly. The merge=unityyamlmerge driver and careful attribute configuration are essential.

Recommended Configuration

# Auto detect
* text=auto

# Unity YAML files
*.unity      merge=unityyamlmerge eol=lf
*.prefab     merge=unityyamlmerge eol=lf
*.asset      merge=unityyamlmerge eol=lf
*.meta       merge=unityyamlmerge eol=lf
*.mat        merge=unityyamlmerge eol=lf
*.anim       merge=unityyamlmerge eol=lf
*.controller merge=unityyamlmerge eol=lf
*.overrideController merge=unityyamlmerge eol=lf
*.playable   merge=unityyamlmerge eol=lf
*.mask       merge=unityyamlmerge eol=lf
*.physicMaterial merge=unityyamlmerge eol=lf
*.physicsMaterial2D merge=unityyamlmerge eol=lf
*.lighting   merge=unityyamlmerge eol=lf

# C# source
*.cs text diff=csharp

# Shaders
*.shader  text
*.cginc   text
*.hlsl    text
*.compute text
*.glsl    text

# Config
*.json  text
*.xml   text
*.yml   text
*.yaml  text

# Binary assets
*.png    binary
*.jpg    binary
*.jpeg   binary
*.psd    binary
*.tga    binary
*.tiff   binary
*.gif    binary
*.bmp    binary
*.fbx    binary
*.obj    binary
*.3ds    binary
*.dae    binary
*.blend  binary
*.wav    binary
*.mp3    binary
*.ogg    binary
*.aiff   binary
*.ttf    binary
*.otf    binary
*.dll    binary
*.exe    binary
*.so     binary
*.dylib  binary
*.unitypackage binary

Setting Up UnityYAMLMerge

The merge=unityyamlmerge attribute requires configuring Git to use Unity's merge tool:

# In .gitconfig or .git/config
[merge "unityyamlmerge"]
  name = Unity YAML Merge
  driver = '/Applications/Unity/Unity.app/Contents/Tools/UnityYAMLMerge' merge -p %O %A %B %A
  recursive = binary

Why eol=lf for Unity Files?

Unity's version control integration expects LF line endings. Using CRLF causes Unity to constantly re-serialize files, creating unnecessary changes and merge conflicts. Force eol=lf for all Unity YAML files.